Lawyers, government relations specialists, risk managers, compliance officers, regulation analysts and procurement specialists now compete for the same budget dollars along with instructors and teaching assistants.

FORBES: Why Is Tuition So High? Government Shares in Blame.

Hitachi, in flat-panel TV business, reduce fixed costs through the second half of fiscal 2009 from fiscal 2007, the reduction of overseas operations, including measures to improve profitability through the use of procurement, building a business model that specializes in technology management with low-risk differentiated has been working on.

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The unanswered question is why Mr Aitken should have taken such a huge risk in denying the Guardian's claim that as minister of defence procurement he had stayed at the hotel as a guest of the Saudi royal family.

ECONOMIST: Jonathan Aitken

In addition to emphasizing the relevance of such business activity to federal procurement decisions, this process might, at minimum, urge the establishment of global security risk management programs, much like export controls already in force.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Doing business with Iran

Progressive organizations are evaluating their procurement, sourcing and supplier management from a new perspective to create additional value and explore resulting business sustainability risk that will continue well into 2011.

FORBES: CSR 2010: Emerging Career Choices in Supply Chain and Sustainability

Probably only if the government were able to offer risk-adjusted returns at least equal to those they currently earn which, given traditional government procurement policies and the fact that drug-industry profits are a political hot potato, it seems unlikely to do.

ECONOMIST: Vaccines against bioterrorism