United States

Office of Personnel Management

Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness

Digest of Significant Classification Decisions and Opinions

August 1994

No. 19-01

Standard:	General Schedule Supervisory Guide (April 1993)

Factor:	Factor 1, Program Scope and Effect

Issue:	Crediting Level 1-3 for supervision of complex professional, technical, or administrative services

Identification of the Classification Issue

This issue arose in connection with an appellant's request for reconsideration of an Office of Personnel Management appeal decision. The Office of Personnel Management region evaluated Factor 1 at Level 1-2, but the appellant argued that Level 1-3 was creditable because she directed the work of an organization that provided contracting and purchasing services for components of a military organization dispersed throughout a State. The work supervised directly supported a total of about 4,750 employees who were engaged in the performance of a variety of technical supply and maintenance activities, as well as various staff administrative functions. However, the majority of the total serviced employees were engaged in technical maintenance functions.

Resolution

Factor 1, Program Scope and Effect, has two components, Scope and Effect. To assign a particular factor level, the full intent of the criteria for both components must be fully met.

a. Scope

Scope has two elements: (a) the program (or program segment) directed and (b) the work directed, the products produced, or the services delivered. Scope includes the geographic and organizational coverage of the program or program segment.

The Office of Personnel Management found that the scope of the appellant's supervisory work matched Level 1-3. The work directed involved providing complex professional services directly affecting more than 4,700 employees comprising a group of activities comparable to a large military installation, as defined in the General Schedule Supervisory Guide (i.e., a total serviced employee-equivalent population exceeding 4,000 and engaged in a variety of serviced technical functions). Thus, Scope was evaluated at Level 1-3.

b. Effect

This element addresses the impact of the work, the products, and/or the programs described under Scope on the mission and programs of the customer(s), the activity, other activities within or outside of government, the agency, other agencies, the general public, or others.

The Office of Personnel Management found that the appellant's work did not meet the full intent of Level 1-3 for Effect. The criteria for this level include very specific conditions for positions providing supporting services at the field activity level: The work directly involves or substantially impacts the provision of essential support services to numerous, varied, and complex technical, professional, and administrative functions. Level 1-3 envisions credit for mission- supporting services that directly impact a group of activities that includes complex professional and administrative functions as well as complex, diverse technical functions, as would typically be found at a large or complex, multimission military installation or an installation with a very large serviced population.

The appellant's work primarily supported technical maintenance activities, including some depot- level repair of combat vehicles and complex weapon systems, such as sophisticated electronics and armament equipment. While some of these activities were found to be significantly complex and diverse, they were not comparable in complexity to those typically carried out at a large military installation, e.g., one where large-scale and diverse technical functions, such as depot- level repair and overhaul of complex weapons systems occur. Moreover, the professional and administrative functions supported by the appellant's organization were not as varied and complex as those that would typically exist at a large or complex, military installation with a very large serviced population. The administrative and professional functions supported by the appellant were relatively small and of limited complexity. Overall, the Office of Personnel Management found that the magnitude and complexity of activities supported by the appellant were not equivalent to those that generally comprise a large or complex, multimission military installation. Thus, the Office of Personnel Management found that the appellant's supervisory work did not have the level of impact intended for crediting Effect at Level 1-3. Consequently, the Office of Personnel Management credited this element at Level 1-2.

Since only Scope was credited at Level 1-3, the Office of Personnel Management's overall evalua tion of Factor 1 was Level 1-2.