My name is Elaine and my pen name is The Undefeated Life. I have enjoyed sharing my love for expression through written word here on this Neothink® Essence blog site. As you read through the many interesting submissions from the various authors found here, you will find that there are a lot of celebrations of life being expressed by these authors. In addition to this site, I also write for Ezine articles as an Expert Author, and on two of my own websites. I have been so inspired with my involvement with this Neothink® Society that I have actually published a new book entitled, “Learning Your Computer Through Pictures.” This book is a pictorial instruction book on how to use your computer. If you are a person that would like to better your computer skills for things like the creation of text documents and slide show videos, and understanding the internet, then this book is for you.

Not So Neothink® Virtues in Today’s Free Market Business Enterprise?

When I was employed as a Regional Marketing Coordinator for a company providing emergency response communications equipment to the fire and rescue industries, a regular part of the job was the submission of the bid proposal. In order to make that sale my bid proposal had to outline the product and proposed cost. If my bid were competitive, it had to do two things. First, it had to qualify itself to the customer’s needs as specified in their bid specifications for the product desired, and secondly, it had to be offered at a competitive price. Bid proposals are a common practice in business, and they are designed to represent, a “Free Market Enterprise.” Businesses are predominant in Capitalist Economies; with most businesses being owned and operated by private business owners. Privately owned business is a characteristic of a capitalist economy as is found in the economic of America today.

Capitalism is an economic social system in which trade and industry are privately controlled for profit rather than being controlled by a state or government agency. The means of product production, which also includes the use of land for the purpose of business, is known as capital. This capital is owned, operated, and traded for the purpose of generating profits; and in a capitalist economy is supposed to occur without force or fraud. Investments, distribution, income, production, pricing and supply of goods, commodities, and services are determined by voluntary private decision in the capitalist economy. This is the purpose of free market enterprise.

When a government agency such as those I worked with, or in some cases the military, sets out to purchase a product or service form a private enterprise business owner it must insure that the highest quality product, and the most competitive prices are being attained in a purchase for the American public according to the rule of law. In a capitalist economy according to business law; to insure there is no fraud involved, a ‘Bid Proposal and its Product Specifications’ for the desired product or service must be drafted and submitted to various business owners/operators in order to insure there is no fraud involved in the procurement of the product and to confirm that the most competitive price has been achieved in the purchase according to current free market value.

Therefore, this ‘Bid Proposal’ outlines specifically what items are needed in order to qualify for purchase. The prospective vendor’s product specifications must fully meet the bid specifications of the prospective customer in order to qualify as a bidder and be included in the process. Herein lays my question of virtue in modern day business practices.

Remember the government must insure that the products purchased for the people are selected by providing the best dollar value according to a capitalist “free market enterprise – competitive pricing value structure” via the bid prerequisite. So I, as the supplier must meet the criteria of the bid specification both technically as pertains to equipment components and their operations, input/output ratios, technical electronic capabilities e.g. such things as auxiliary voice output, noise canceling microphones, noise reduction headsets, system pricing, and any installation criteria if specified as included in the overall bid specifications. In short, in this case; the government’s bid specifications are supposed to, without fraud via the bid specifications themselves; insure the tax dollars of the people are being utilized ethically via this “Free Market Tool – The Bid Proposal and Its Specifications” right? Not always so.

I came across a situation in which the company I worked for; though able to provide the best quality communications equipment to the fire/rescue industries, at the most competitive price, was not able to bid as the bid Administrator for the department had committed fraud in having the specifications being written to specify a part number which was only utilized by a particular communications equipment vendor. This closed out all other competitive bidders and locked in the sale to the specified alternate vendor. This dishonest practice then caused other communications companies as well as their suppliers to also practice this type of deviant business practice in order to ensure they could stay competitive in the, quote, “free market business economy.”

The sad thing in all of this was that the product was inferior, and unreliable. Just imagine how important it is for communications to be reliable in a life or death situation! How sad…. The question for me was then, should I continue to work in this field with its corruptive practices; which could endanger lives, or should I quit? What’s your decision? Stay on the job or move on? I put moral value before monetary value and am better off for it. I chose to live an undefeated life.

Thank you