Can you analyze the text and ask a direct or open$-$ended question at the end of it$?$ Thank you in advance! I will give a thumbs up$!$

The topic of ethics is never too far away when considering government contracts and acquisitions. Unfortunately, our government has had many encounters with less$-$than$-$ethical behavior. We hear about major stories of fraud or unethical practices when they reach major news outlets, but we do not always hear about the smaller cases. These cases are still just as prevalent in the acquisition field.

The NCMA guiding principles help describe what ethical behavior consists of$.$ The biggest $3$ principles are accountability, integrity and trust. As we learned about Darleen Druyun, these $3$ principles were violated multiple times in order to deceive the American tax payers and the federal government. Ethical principles, when properly adhered to$,$ provide fair pricing and opportunity from multiple vendors during contract bidding. Darleen Druyun created a non$-$competitive contracting process for Boeing while receiving personal favors for herself and her family.

Another story from recent years is the fraud and unethical behavior during the Fat Leonard case. This case included bribery of high ranking Naval officers and fraudulent charging of the US Navy. Leonard was bribing admirals to influence port visits, which benefited his company. He then overcharged for the port visit services and paid kick backs to the people involved. Many US officers were charged for their actions during this time and it left a stain on Naval contracting. This is another example of unethical behavior affecting federal contract management.

The unethical behavior causes tax payer money to be lost and manpower wasted in order to discover and prosecute the perpetrators.