Procurement guidelines are made on a regional basis depending on the current philosophy and trends out of the central office. Little input is taken from the boots on the ground staff or on historical data like performance, so previous problems on contracts get passed along only to continue and waste the taxpayers' dime. More effort is put into form and not substance and poor business decisions get made repeatedly. Plenty of training and advancement programs (but done on the cheap with poor quality hired outside training), but favoritism is rampant and selection for attendance or participation is made politics and ego than actual substance or ability for growth. Depending on grade and area, the region protects certain staff and those staff act outside their authority continuously and out in the open, but are not held to any standard. Metrics are at the forefront GSA and the agency loves lists and if you show up on one, you've impeded your promotability. Regions and directors compete on this without any forethought of the consequences. Again many cliques and egos so you need to learn the culture quickly to survive the politics. Double standards left and right. In all, Acquisition Management is separated from Facilities, but it's the technical people who call the shots and they frequently use their power to influence decisions to boost their own standing within the region and office. Blow the whistle, regional OIG will ignore it. Technical experts really don't have the education or background (or even the skillset) to make the analytical decisions that are necessary. Lack of advancement opportunities.
