Introduction
The request for proposal by the City of Charlottesville focuses on the coaching services and executive development. The RFP response entails how the services will be facilitated and how the coaching process will be carried out. This proposal has a set of strengths and weaknesses that can be evaluated to determine the quality of the proposal. The evaluation of the proposal will be done according to the checklist provided in the Master’s Program handbook. The review will be divided into three main sections. The first section evaluates the first document; the understanding of the RFP and the rationale for its selection. The second one focuses on the response of the client and the third on substantiation of the response.
Professional rationale for the selection of the RFP
The request for RFP proposal demonstrates the client’s understanding of the problems at hand. The client clearly articulated every issue of the problem. The problems mentioned are the leadership skills needed by employees in the City of Charlottesville. The client’s need is also fully elaborated to ensure the respondents understand. The need identified by the client is the facilitation of executive development and coaching services during the training period of the Charlottesville city’s leadership program called Charlottesville Leadership Development Academy (CLDA Program). The format of the RFP was also fully explained. The client mentioned components needed in the response. For instance the client requested for the provision of estimated costs and how the facilitation of the coaching and executive development processes will be conducted.
There is a strong rationale of this RFP in relation to I-O Psychology. This is evident in the scope of work the client has outlines. The client aims to improve the leadership skills and knowledge of the city staff. The client wants to determine the necessities of leadership development. I-O Psychologists have the tasks of using their expertise to establish ways on how to improve the leadership qualities of a workforce. For instance, in Performance Management, Aguinis argues that the performance of employees can be improved through training programs. Such programs can only be successful if experts in I-O psychology are tasked to conduct and plan the whole process.
The RFP also demonstrates good professional rationale because the client’s aim is to improve the quality of the city’s workforce. At personal level, the employees are also expected to gain experience and knowledge on how to improve their performance and develop their leadership skills.
RFP response
The response the RFP has a professional outlook and adheres to all the rules of writing RFP responses. It is also designed in a simple but elaborate manner, which makes it possible for any consultant to fulfil and respond. Furthermore, the RFP response addresses all issues requested in the RFP such as goal setting, determination of the necessities for leadership development and the analysis of performance discrepancy. The solutions and recommendations offered in the response are all based on I-O theory and principles of organizational development and leadership. The solutions offered are pragmatic and tailor-made to address the City of Charlottesville’s problems.
Weaknesses
The proposal has been developed in a professional and orderly manner. However, the proposals do not address the specific issues stipulated in the RFP. The solutions offered are generalized and they might not be practical in some cases. For example, the response does not specify who is supposed to conduct the Training Needs Analysis. Furthermore, the client is a city. To conduct a SWOT analysis of a city might be difficult because the local authority offers public goods only hence; the SWOT analysis does is not relevant in relation to improving leadership qualities of employees.
Conclusion
The proposals are of good quality, addressing every issue faced by the City of Charlottesville. The problems and needs are well elaborated and the solutions and recommendations are relevant. The proposal also meets the requirements of a response to RFP. However, some of the solutions offered in the response may not be relevant while some are not practical in addressing the needs of the client.
References
Aguinis, H. (2009). Performance management (2nd Edition ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2009). Organization development and change (9th edition ed.). Mason: Cengage Learning.
Jones, B. B., & Brazzel, M. (2006). The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change: Principles, Practices, and Perspectives. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
