INTRODUCTION
This application will link you to two compensation-related web sites. The first site is a consulting organization with a national reputation as a provider of innovative wage and salary management software and online compensation research. The second site is the U.S. Office of Personnel Management that serves as the federal government's human resources agency. Whether employees work in the private or public sector, the proper planning and administration of a wage and salary system is critical for maintaining competitiveness in recruitment, development, and utilization of an organization's human resources. The components of a wage and salary management system, and issues related to managing such a system, are discussed in Chapter 14 of French's Human Resources Management, 5th ed.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Having successfully completed this application, you will be able to:

• Identify the types (and costs) of products and services that can be purchased via the internet to assist an organization in managing a wage and salary system.
• State why a market based job evaluation system is desirable.
• Identify the activities that support wage and salary administration for federal employees provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
• Access an electronic reading room maintained by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management that explains various features of government-wide pay programs and position classification policy for work performed in the Federal Government.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS AND ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
Instruction 1: Access the following web site: http://www.claytonwallis.com Clayton Wallis has granted permission for this site to be accessed for this interactive application. Since this online resource is designed for use by internal compensation and other human resource and related internal practitioners, you will be limited in your ability to navigate within this site. Click on the "Home" button, read the descriptive information about the Clayton Wallis Company, and answer Question 1.
Question 1: What is the exclusive goal of The Clayton Wallis Company?

Instruction 2: Return to the top of the page and click on "Site Options." Using the search window on the left side of the page highlight "OMF Job Evaluation," click once, and answer Question 2.
Question 2: Why is the OMF Job Evaluation System is the most accurate and legally defensible job evaluation system available?

Instruction 3: Return to the top of the page and click on "products" then click on "CompGeo Online" - you should be on the page titled "CompGeo Online: Geographic Salary Database Research." Click on the geographical region in which you are located (e.g., click on Mountain if you live in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming). Using the "select" button highlight "Human Resources" as an occupational salary group and click on "select". Next, go to the upper left-hand corner of the screen and click on "Overview and Rates" and answer Questions 3 and 4.
Question 3: What four types of information are included in the Standard CompGeo Online Report?
Question 4: What is the cost to receive the CompGeo Online Standard report via e-mail?

Instruction 4: Access the following web site: http://www.opm.gov/index.htm Scroll down the left side of the page, click on "What is OPM?", and answer Questions 5 and 6.
Question 5: What is OPM and what words are represented by the acronym OPM?
Question 6: In what general activities is OPM involved?

Instruction 5: Return to the OPM Home Page by either clicking on the "Back" button at the top of your web browser or by scrolling down the page and clicking on "To OPM Home Page." Then, click on "classification" on the left side of the page to enter OPM's electronic reading room. Read the information on this page and answer Questions 7 and 8.
Question 7: The position classification policy covers what type of work?
Question 8: What types of documents are provided in OPM's electronic reading room for occupations covered by the General Schedule (GS) and occupations covered by the Federal Wage System (FWS)?