Wheat Field
Here are Todays Great Wheat Field Deals
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![]() Van Gogh Green Wheat Field with Cypress II Oil Painting Canvas Art Reproduction $33.99 End Date: Wednesday Jun-6-2012 7:57:17 PDT Buy It Now for only: $33.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() OLD WATERCOLOR SIGNED GT THOMAS $25.00 End Date: Monday May-28-2012 13:06:58 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Wheat Field with Crows Oil Painting repro $99.99 End Date: Tuesday Jun-12-2012 20:48:56 PDT Buy It Now for only: $99.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Wheat Field with Crows van GOGH repro Oil painting $62.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:10:35 PDT Buy It Now for only: $62.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Wheat Field and Cypress Trees Repro CANVAS ART $38.99 End Date: Friday Jun-1-2012 9:12:24 PDT Buy It Now for only: $38.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Wheat Field Under Clouded Sky van GOGH repro Oil $62.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:10:35 PDT Buy It Now for only: $62.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Yellow Wheat and Cypresses repro VAN GOGH Oil Painting $39.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:06:57 PDT Buy It Now for only: $39.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Wheat Field with Cypresses Handmade Oil Painting Canvas Art Rep 20x24 $28.04 End Date: Saturday Jun-16-2012 20:01:04 PDT Buy It Now for only: $28.04 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Green Wheat Field with Cypress van GOGH repro Oil paint $38.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:10:39 PDT Buy It Now for only: $38.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Wheat Field in Rain van GOGH repro Oil painting $48.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:10:35 PDT Buy It Now for only: $48.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Wheat Field with Cornflowers van GOGH repro Oil $38.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:03:24 PDT Buy It Now for only: $38.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Wheatfield under a Cloudy sky repro VAN GOGH Oil Paint $62.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:03:24 PDT Buy It Now for only: $62.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Green Wheat Field van GOGH repro Oil painting $38.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:06:58 PDT Buy It Now for only: $38.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() The Ripened Wheat Jules Bastien Lepage repro oil paint $89.00 End Date: Wednesday Jun-6-2012 17:39:02 PDT Buy It Now for only: $89.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Wheat Field With Crows Oil Painting Huge Abstract Canvas Art Rep 30x40 $77.99 End Date: Wednesday Jun-6-2012 8:02:08 PDT Buy It Now for only: $77.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Wheat Field with Crows Brown Framed Giclee Canvas Reproduction Art M $159.38 End Date: Sunday Jun-10-2012 13:33:16 PDT Buy It Now for only: $159.38 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Wheat Field With Crows Oil Painting Huge Abstract Canvas Art Rep 30x40 $65.44 End Date: Saturday Jun-16-2012 20:01:07 PDT Buy It Now for only: $65.44 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Sunset Wheat Fields Near Arles van GOGH repro Oil $38.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:10:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: $38.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() DAVID CAMPBELL 1945 WHEAT FIELD HARVEST IMPRESSIONIST DETAIL WATERCOLOR NR $600.00 End Date: Thursday Jun-14-2012 16:33:10 PDT Buy It Now for only: $600.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Field of Spring Wheat at Sunrise van GOGH repro Oil $38.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:03:25 PDT Buy It Now for only: $38.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH Wheat Field Crows Original Size CANVAS Repro $134.99 End Date: Sunday May-27-2012 11:41:42 PDT Buy It Now for only: $134.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() IMPRESSIONISTIC LANDSCAPE SIGNED AR 69 $119.95 End Date: Saturday Jun-16-2012 1:30:36 PDT Buy It Now for only: $119.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() EDMUND FISCHER WHEAT FIELD LANDSCAPE LISTED NR $800.00 End Date: Thursday Jun-14-2012 16:33:10 PDT Buy It Now for only: $800.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() White House at Night van GOGH repro Oil painting $52.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:06:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: $52.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() WHEAT FIELD ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR PAINTING G Louis Rowles $75.00 End Date: Friday Jun-22-2012 7:33:31 PDT Buy It Now for only: $75.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() MOGENS VANTORE1895 1977 HARVEST LANDSCAPE $399.95 End Date: Sunday Jun-17-2012 21:47:31 PDT Buy It Now for only: $399.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Golden Wheat Field Farm Home Italian Red Flower Stretched 20X24 Oil Painting $77.77 End Date: Wednesday May-30-2012 16:24:12 PDT Buy It Now for only: $77.77 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH Wheat Field and Cypress Trees Repro CANVAS ART $73.99 End Date: Friday Jun-1-2012 15:31:15 PDT Buy It Now for only: $73.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() MODERNISTIC LANDSCAPE ILLEGIBLE SIGNED $199.95 End Date: Thursday Jun-7-2012 6:08:56 PDT Buy It Now for only: $199.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Farmhouse in a Wheat Field Oil Painting repro $24.99 End Date: Tuesday Jun-12-2012 21:04:46 PDT Buy It Now for only: $24.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Wheat Field with Cypresses Handmade Oil Painting Canvas Art Rep 20x24 $33.99 End Date: Wednesday Jun-6-2012 8:02:20 PDT Buy It Now for only: $33.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() X LARGE Vincent van Gogh Wheat Field Repro CANVAS ART $232.18 End Date: Friday Jun-8-2012 20:09:52 PDT Buy It Now for only: $232.18 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() X LARGE Van Gogh Wheat Field w Crows Repro CANVAS ART $321.28 End Date: Friday Jun-15-2012 16:06:34 PDT Buy It Now for only: $321.28 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Green Wheat Field with Cypress II Oil Painting Canvas Art Reproduction $28.04 End Date: Saturday Jun-16-2012 19:51:59 PDT Buy It Now for only: $28.04 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Wheat Field with Crows oil on Canvas Framed Reproduction Art 27x12inch $159.00 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 2:57:54 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH WHEAT FIELD SILVER FRAMED CANVAS PRINT 8x10 $49.93 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 11:00:00 PDT Buy It Now for only: $49.93 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Cypress Trees Clouds Hills Famous Van Gogh Landscape Repro Oil Painting $77.77 End Date: Wednesday May-30-2012 17:45:16 PDT Buy It Now for only: $77.77 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Wheat Field Under Clouded Sky Framed Canvas S $94.29 End Date: Monday Jun-25-2012 0:44:44 PDT Buy It Now for only: $94.29 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() LARGE FRAMED Claude Monet Repro Wheat Field CANVAS ART $232.18 End Date: Friday Jun-22-2012 18:00:46 PDT Buy It Now for only: $232.18 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Wheatfield with Cypresses Vincent van Gogh Poster $8.95 End Date: Friday Jun-1-2012 14:37:17 PDT Buy It Now for only: $8.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Wheat Field at Auvers with House van GOGH repro Oil $52.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:03:23 PDT Buy It Now for only: $52.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Wheat Field with Cypresses Handmade Oil Painting Canvas Art Rep 20x24 $35.99 End Date: Tuesday Jun-12-2012 18:19:58 PDT Buy It Now for only: $35.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Edge of a Wheat Field with Poppies and a Lark Handmade Oil Painting $33.99 End Date: Wednesday Jun-6-2012 7:56:28 PDT Buy It Now for only: $33.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() FRAMED OIL PAINTING 3 WOMEN IN FIELD KRAMES 21 x 16 $99.95 End Date: Wednesday Jun-6-2012 12:40:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: $99.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH WHEATFIELD STACKS STRETCHED CANVAS REPRO 3 FT $99.99 End Date: Tuesday Jun-12-2012 17:55:25 PDT Buy It Now for only: $99.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH ENCLOSED WHEAT FIELD W PEASANT SILVER FRAMED CANVAS PRINT 8x10 $49.93 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 12:56:17 PDT Buy It Now for only: $49.93 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Louis Schanker c1955 Abstract Expressionist painting $4,500.00 End Date: Friday Jun-15-2012 14:29:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: $4,500.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Hand Painted Oil Painting Repro Van Gogh Wheat Field with Cypress $64.95 End Date: Friday Jun-15-2012 19:33:23 PDT Buy It Now for only: $64.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Edge of a Wheat Field with Poppies and a Lark Handmade Oil Painting $35.99 End Date: Tuesday Jun-12-2012 18:30:36 PDT Buy It Now for only: $35.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() ITALY CAMPANIANAPLESCAPRIWOMENRARE CANVAS PRINT $25.19 End Date: Saturday Jun-2-2012 15:11:30 PDT Buy It Now for only: $25.19 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() REINHOLDT NIELSEN1891 1984 HARVEST LANDSCAPE $179.95 End Date: Saturday Jun-16-2012 1:23:16 PDT Buy It Now for only: $179.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Framed Hand Painted Oil Painting Repro Van Gogh Wheat Field Cypress $249.00 End Date: Thursday May-31-2012 15:18:20 PDT Buy It Now for only: $249.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() High Q Hand Painted Oil Painting Repro Van Gogh Green Wheat Field $78.95 End Date: Monday Jun-18-2012 10:27:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: $78.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() 24 x 36 Oil Painting Art Vincent van Gogh Wheat Field with Cornflowers Green $36.99 End Date: Sunday May-27-2012 18:07:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: $36.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Green Wheatfield with Cypress van Gogh Poster $8.95 End Date: Friday Jun-1-2012 14:36:36 PDT Buy It Now for only: $8.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH Wheat Field with Crows Repro Canvas Art Print $146.99 End Date: Saturday Jun-2-2012 9:55:29 PDT Buy It Now for only: $146.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Picture Vincent van Gogh Wheat Field 1889 2398 $6.00 End Date: Wednesday Jun-20-2012 22:08:11 PDT Buy It Now for only: $6.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Hand Painted Oil Painting Repro Van Gogh Wheat Field with Cypress $32.95 End Date: Monday Jun-4-2012 21:26:29 PDT Buy It Now for only: $32.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Wheat Field Under Clouded Sky Walnut Framed Canvas Art Repro M 39x19 $169.38 End Date: Saturday Jun-23-2012 7:56:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: $169.38 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Edge of a Wheat Field with Poppies and a Lark Handmade Oil Painting $28.04 End Date: Saturday Jun-16-2012 19:52:26 PDT Buy It Now for only: $28.04 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Hand Painted Oil Painting Repro Van Gogh Wheat Field with Cypress $69.95 End Date: Monday May-28-2012 20:04:56 PDT Buy It Now for only: $69.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Old Master Antiquel Oil painting Landscape art Golden wheat fields 24X48 $128.00 End Date: Sunday Jun-10-2012 5:52:13 PDT Buy It Now for only: $128.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH Wheat Field and Cypress Trees Repro CANVAS ART $125.99 End Date: Wednesday May-30-2012 9:43:32 PDT Buy It Now for only: $125.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Orig Oil Painting Poppy Field with Wheat on Canvas L40 $120.00 End Date: Monday Jun-25-2012 5:43:15 PDT Buy It Now for only: $120.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VINCENT VAN GOGH Wheat Field Print Repro CANVAS ART $129.98 End Date: Saturday Jun-16-2012 6:41:43 PDT Buy It Now for only: $129.98 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH Wheat Field and Cypress Trees Repro CANVAS ART $106.98 End Date: Monday May-28-2012 17:44:43 PDT Buy It Now for only: $106.98 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH ENCLOSED WHEAT FIELD W PEASANT GOLD FRAMED CANVAS PRINT 8x10 $49.93 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 12:54:35 PDT Buy It Now for only: $49.93 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Signed Antique Painting Three Women Working in a Wheat Field $74.55 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 12:30:23 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list |
![]() FRAMED Vincent van Gogh Wheat Field Repro ART on CANVAS $168.28 End Date: Wednesday Jun-13-2012 17:37:16 PDT Buy It Now for only: $168.28 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Farmhouse in a Wheat Field Walnut Framed Canvas Art S 13x12 $89.29 End Date: Saturday Jun-23-2012 16:49:06 PDT Buy It Now for only: $89.29 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Wheatfield and Mountains Oil Painting repro $99.99 End Date: Tuesday Jun-12-2012 21:04:46 PDT Buy It Now for only: $99.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Green Wheat Field with Cypress II Oil Painting Canvas Art Reproduction $35.99 End Date: Tuesday Jun-12-2012 18:30:26 PDT Buy It Now for only: $35.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Van Gogh Wheat Field With Crows Oil Painting Huge Abstract Canvas Art Rep 30x40 $79.99 End Date: Tuesday Jun-12-2012 18:20:01 PDT Buy It Now for only: $79.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Wheat Field Walnut Framed Giclee Canvas Art S 14x12 $89.29 End Date: Saturday Jun-23-2012 16:50:11 PDT Buy It Now for only: $89.29 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() FRAMED ART Wheat Field Painting Repro Vincent van Gogh $110.98 End Date: Wednesday Jun-6-2012 11:27:15 PDT Buy It Now for only: $110.98 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Young Girl Standing Against wheat van GOGH repro Oil $38.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:10:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: $38.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH WHEAT FIELD W CYPRESSES STRETCHED CANVAS GICLEE REPRO 3 FT $99.99 End Date: Monday May-28-2012 14:25:31 PDT Buy It Now for only: $99.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() 1920 BULGARIAN FOLK GIRL WHEAT HARVESTER FIELD SICKLE OIL PAINTING ARTIST SIGNED $230.10 End Date: Monday Jun-11-2012 7:24:29 PDT Buy It Now for only: $230.10 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() FRAMED Claude Monet Wheat Field Repro CANVAS ART PRINT $206.98 End Date: Wednesday Jun-6-2012 21:16:33 PDT Buy It Now for only: $206.98 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH WHEAT FIELD WITH CROWS GOLD FRAMED CANVAS PRINT 8x10 $49.93 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 9:40:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: $49.93 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() XL FRAMED ART Monet Wheat Field Painting Repro CANVAS $269.98 End Date: Sunday Jun-10-2012 17:30:25 PDT Buy It Now for only: $269.98 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() amongst the wheat Berthe Morisot Repro oil painting $86.00 End Date: Wednesday Jun-6-2012 21:09:19 PDT Buy It Now for only: $86.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Field with Wheat Stacks van GOGH repro Oil painting $62.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-5-2012 9:00:18 PDT Buy It Now for only: $62.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Enclosed Wheat Field w Peasant Walnut Framed Canvas Art Repro S 14x12 $89.29 End Date: Saturday Jun-23-2012 16:56:03 PDT Buy It Now for only: $89.29 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() ANTIQUE GESSO WOOD FRAME FRENCH PIERRE DUTEURTRE SCENE FROM NORMANDY PAINTING $9,625.00 End Date: Friday Jun-1-2012 9:09:07 PDT Buy It Now for only: $9,625.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() High Q Hand Painted Oil Painting Repro Van Gogh Wheatfield w Crows $28.95 End Date: Sunday Jun-10-2012 16:42:56 PDT Buy It Now for only: $28.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Orig Oil Painting Poppy Field with Wheat 30 x 24 inch $64.00 End Date: Wednesday Jun-13-2012 11:51:17 PDT Buy It Now for only: $64.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH Wheat Field and Cypress Trees Repro CANVAS ART $269.98 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 18:19:49 PDT Buy It Now for only: $269.98 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() XL FRAMED Vincent van Gogh Wheat Field Repro CANVAS ART $226.78 End Date: Thursday Jun-7-2012 10:05:56 PDT Buy It Now for only: $226.78 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() FRAMED Vincent van Gogh Wheat Field Repro CANVAS ART $142.18 End Date: Wednesday Jun-20-2012 17:32:44 PDT Buy It Now for only: $142.18 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Wheat Field Framed Giclee Canvas Art S $79.29 End Date: Monday Jun-25-2012 0:32:49 PDT Buy It Now for only: $79.29 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() VAN GOGH WHEAT FIELD GOLD FRAMED CANVAS PRINT 8x10 $49.93 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 10:58:04 PDT Buy It Now for only: $49.93 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Farmhouse in a Wheat Field Framed Canvas S $79.29 End Date: Monday Jun-25-2012 0:31:47 PDT Buy It Now for only: $79.29 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Hand Painted Oil Painting Repro Van Gogh Wheat Field with Irises $56.95 End Date: Friday Jun-1-2012 22:20:58 PDT Buy It Now for only: $56.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Wheat Field with Crows Walnut Framed Canvas Reproduction Art S 25x12 $104.29 End Date: Saturday Jun-23-2012 17:10:14 PDT Buy It Now for only: $104.29 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Wheat Field Walnut Framed Giclee Canvas Art M 23x19 $139.75 End Date: Saturday Jun-23-2012 7:41:49 PDT Buy It Now for only: $139.75 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() van Gogh Edge of Wheatfield with Poppies Brown Framed Canvas M $129.75 End Date: Monday Jun-18-2012 18:22:37 PDT Buy It Now for only: $129.75 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Framed Hand Painted Oil Painting Repro Van Gogh Wheat Field Cypress $99.95 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 22:02:22 PDT Buy It Now for only: $99.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() Orig Oil Painting Poppy Field with Wheat on Canvas L34 $120.00 End Date: Tuesday Jun-12-2012 20:55:18 PDT Buy It Now for only: $120.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
![]() FRAMED Van Gogh Wheat Field with Crows Repro CANVAS ART $264.58 End Date: Wednesday Jun-6-2012 17:24:21 PDT Buy It Now for only: $264.58 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
More Great Information on Wheat Field:
Procurement Management
Projects typically need stuff: servers, software, subject matter experts, pizza, etc. And to buy all this stuff, you need to go through procurement processes. That's just a fancy way of saying you need to follow some rules and procedures within your organization to get the things you need to complete your project.
Well, duh.
In some organizations where I've consulted, the project managers can spend carte blanche up to $10,000 on any purchases they need. In other, less fun organizations, the project managers can't buy a soda pop without an accountant's permission.
So where are you? Do you get to buy, buy, buy, or is every purchase considered, weighed, and meditated on before someone reaches for the wallet? In either shop, there are some guidelines you should consider.
Really, there are.
Planning What To Buy
All purchases require some level of planning. The intensity of the planning is relevant to the purchase being made. You do this already, right? If you're about to install a new piece of hardware, you'll consider all the functions that the hardware should have, shop around a bit for prices, and then see how much your project or organization can spend (or is willing to spend).
Planning for procurement includes more than window shopping. Think way, way back to the start of any project that required procurement. Early in the project planning, it was easy to identify those things or services that you needed to buy for the project to succeed. As the project moved forward, "emergencies" popped up, requiring you to buy more stuff: cables, software, additional hardware, tools, training, spaghetti sauce, whatever. So how did you go about getting all this stuff? Did you go to management, hat in hand, and plead your case for your much-needed spaghetti sauce, or did you dip into a project contingency fund?
How you go about purchasing depends on the structure within your organization. It's difficult, if not impossible, to define a universal approach to procurement. Everybody, every organization, has a specific approach to procurement. The moral of the story? Follow the rules. Once you know the rules of how to procure, then you can play the game.
Gettin' to the Gettin'
I know lots of people who like to go shopping. One person (who shall remain nameless, but her initials are LISA) plans her vacations based on the shopping malls in the vicinity of her hotel. She buys an extra seat for the flight home, just to carry all of her new shoes and fancy outfits.
As a project manager, you can't go project shopping just because shoes are on sale. While sales are good, they don't always help the project to acquire the things it needs to reach project closure.
There's nothing better than finding a sale on the hardware or software that your project needs, but you and I know that's just not the way technology and procurement usually works. We have to shop, compare, evaluate, and eventually cough up the cash to get what our projects need.
But here's some Econ 101 for you: Prices are affected by supply and demand, pending changes, and other factors, from government regulations to the economy as a whole.
I can hear you again: Duh.
But hold that "duh" for one moment. Three specific conditions affect how much you pay for the things your project needs:
- Sole source. In this condition, you'll likely pay big bucks. Sole source means there is only one qualified seller in the market. This is supply and demand at its finest. If your project needs a Cisco CCIE-certified consultant who must also know how to program in COBOL, speak Spanish, and cook spaghetti for up to forty people, and must live local to your firm, those are some high requirements—you'll likely have to pay a higher dollar for this expert than for your average spaghetti-cooking hack.
- Single source. You're in love. When there's a single source provider, your organization prefers to work with this provider even though other providers may be less costly or more qualified. The danger is that your single source provider may know your attachment and take advantage of the situation. Or get lax in their commitment to quality. Or go out of business. (Or not.)
- Oligopoly. This one is just fun to say. Try it: Oh-lig-AH-polly (sounds like monopoly). This market condition means that there are so few providers of the particular good or service that the events, actions, or circumstances of one seller affect the events, actions, or circumstances of the other sellers. Examples: Airline fares; oil prices; hardware costs; or possibly availability of spaghetti-cooking, COBOL-programming CCIEs who live in your neighborhood.
Cash and the Law of Diminishing Returns
One of my favorite economic laws is the Law of Diminishing Returns. It's basic stuff at first glance, but can really haunt a project manager if he's not careful. I know you're familiar with the Law of Diminishing Returns, but that guy from Sheboygan is also reading, so let me help him out.
Imagine that you have a wheat field. Wait, he's from Sheboygan. Imagine that you have a corn field and you know that you can get 100 trucks of corn out of the field. That's the most corn you'll ever get from the field. You also know that if you hire 10 guys to harvest the corn for you, they'll be done in 2 days. So you reason that if you hire 20 guys you'll be done in 1 day. So this must mean that if you hire 40 workers, all the corn will be harvested in half a day, right? Maybe, but if you continue to add workers to the field, a few things will happen:
- Your yield—100 trucks of corn—remains the same no matter how quickly you harvest the corn.
- Your profit will decline because you have to pay all those workers to harvest the corn for you. At some point, you may even be upside down on profitability because of the expense of labor.
- The workers will become counterproductive because they'll start getting into each other's way.
So how does all this corn relate to an IT project?
The obvious answer is that you can't exponentially add labor to get a project done faster. And just because you add labor doesn't mean that the project will get done faster. (Have you ever had two programmers, two systems engineers, or even two Spanish-speaking, spaghetti-cooking, COBOL-programming CCIEs argue over how a task should be completed? The argument could go on for years before the work actually gets started.)
But the Law of Diminishing Returns also applies to the technology that you purchase. Have you ever bought an application that was so rich with features that the cost and time of learning the application was more than the returns from using the application? Or have you ever installed a massive powerhouse print server where many of the features of the OS go ignored? Or maxed out the RAM on a laptop that's only used for PowerPoint presentations and solitaire?
When it comes to IT hardware, as with labor, project managers should procure only what's needed—not the max that the budget will allow.
Build or Buy?
Ah, one of the great arguments of all time. Should we buy it or should we build it? Well, it's probably not that great of an argument, but I'll bet you've been in some heated discussions on the value of either side of the debate. If not, let's start one now.
Sometimes, like it or not, it's more cost-effective to spend the cash and pay someone else to build the thing for you. Why? Your crew is busy doing other jobs, they don't have the competence to build the thing you need, or your organization doesn't want to take the risk of creating the thing in-house. Lots of reasons.
Other times, like when your project team is lounging by the company pool sipping pinot noir and snacking on spaghetti, it's ideal to put them back to work building something. Again, there are lots of reasons why it may be better to build versus buy, or the other way around.
But sometimes it's purely a price decision. Here's the deal: Let's say that if your organization builds a piece of software, it'll cost $45,000 to create and then $4,500 each month to support. Now, a vendor says they'll only charge you $23,000 to build the initial product, but they'll need $6,500 each month to support it as part of the deal.
Hmmm... so what's a project manager to do?
Math.
Here's how it works: Take your build option of $45,000 and subtract the vendor's quote of $23,000. The difference is $22,000. Now take the monthly support fees of the vendor, $6,500, and subtract your lesser in-house fees of $4,500. The difference is $2,000.
Now, drum roll please, divide the initial out-of-pocket expense difference of $22,000 by the monthly support fees difference of $2,000 and you'll get 11.
Eleven what?
Well, 11 in Blackjack means double down. Here it means that you can pay for the out-of-pocket expenses of creating the software in-house in 11 months. So, Copernicus, if your software creation will exist for less than 11 months, hire the vendor to do the work for you. If your solution will be around longer than 11 months, and price is the only factor, build the software yourself.
Taking Out a Contract
Contracts override everything: promises, email, secret handshakes. As long as they don't include illegal activities, contracts are backed by the U.S. legal system. A contract is what makes the deal a deal.
To get to the contracting activities, you need to create the procurement documents. The initial document is usually the statement of work (SOW), which describes the thing or service you want to buy. The SOW is provided to the vendor with an invitation to bid (IFB), which you probably also know as a request for quote (RFQ). The IFB and the RFQ are basically the same thing and are focused just on price, not ideas.
A request for proposal wants a price, but also suggestions and ideas on how the project work should be done. Proposals are more than just costs—they're a bit of consulting from the vendor.
In big-dollar contracts, you'll likely host a bidders' conference in which all vendors that want to create a proposal or bid will meet with you at once and ask questions concerning the SOW. This setup ensures that all the vendors have the same info on which to base prices and proposals.
Once you make a decision on which vendor to use, you go through negotiations—which lead to a contract. The contract-type selection might also be negotiated, but usually the type of work or goods being procured dictate the appropriate contract type.
Bring Your Wallet
Procurement is, uh, big business. There are lots of details in procurement planning, the creation of procurement documents, bidder conferences, and in the contracting of the work. All organizations have their approach to procurement and contracting. You, the project manager, need to understand your organization's approach and then follow the rules to get the stuff you need.
Now, if you'll excuse me, my Spanish-speaking, CCIE-certified, COBOL programmer has spaghetti ready. And I need to pay his invoice.
Joseph Phillips
Joseph Phillips is the author of five books on project management and is a PMI Project Management Professional, a CompTIA certified Project Professional, and a Certified Technical Trainer. Joseph has taught for the Project Management Institute, the US Military, Fortune 50 companies, and has spoken at international conferences on project management. Please visit Joseph's website at http://projectseminars.com
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Compared to a natural forest, the wheat field of a farmer lacks?
1. heterotrophs
2. significant biodiversity
3. autotrophs
4. stored energy
2. significant biodiversity
The wheat itself is a monoculture (just one type of plant grown). There may be a few kinds of weeds in the field, and a few kinds of insects. Compare that to all the different types of trees, flowers, and animals that you might find in a forest.
biodiversity = number of different kinds of organisms present in an area




































































































