Calculate the mean and the median annual salary for the HR Manager position. Briefly explain what each measure indicates about the external market.

The mean is the sum of all salaries divided by the number of organisations.
The salaries are R502 000, R525 000, R550 000, R650 000, R750 000, R800 000.
There are 6 organisations.

$$\text{Mean} = \frac{\text{Sum of salaries}}{\text{Number of organisations}}$$ $$\text{Mean} = \frac{502\,000 + 525\,000 + 550\,000 + 650\,000 + 750\,000 + 800\,000}{6}$$ $$\text{Mean} = \frac{3\,777\,000}{6}$$ $$\text{Mean} = \text{R}629\,500$$

The median is the middle value in an ordered dataset. Since there are 6 data points (an even number), the median is the average of the two middle values.
The ordered salaries are: R502 000, R525 000, R550 000, R650 000, R750 000, R800 000.
The two middle values are R550 000 and R650 000.

$$\text{Median} = \frac{\text{Middle value 1} + \text{Middle value 2}}{2}$$ $$\text{Median} = \frac{550\,000 + 650\,000}{2}$$ $$\text{Median} = \frac{1\,200\,000}{2}$$ $$\text{Median} = \text{R}600\,000$$

• The mean annual salary of R629 500 represents the average salary for an HR Manager in the external market. It gives a general idea of the typical pay but can be influenced by very high or low salaries.
• The median annual salary of R600 000 indicates the central point of the salary distribution in the external market. Half of the HR Managers earn above this amount, and half earn below it, making it a good indicator of typical pay without being skewed by extreme values.

The mean annual salary is $\boxed{\text{R}629\,500}$ and the median annual salary is $\boxed{\text{R}600\,000}$.