THE NATIONAL SHERIFF'S ASSOCIATION JAIL OPERATIONS PROJECT ASSIGNED TO INVESTIGATE PERSONNEL SYSTEMS USED IN SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENTS IDENTIFIED SEVERAL MAJOR PROBLEMS BY SURVEYING SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENTS NATIONWIDE: NO FORMAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE WORK ACTUALLY PERFORMED IN VARIOUS POSITIONS EXISTED; JOB CLASSIFICATIONS OFTEN GAVE AN ARTIFICIAL AND MISLEADING DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK ACTUALLY PERFORMED WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS AND FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THE MANY SPECIALIZED FUNCTIONS WHICH HAD EVOLVED; ENTRY-LEVEL AND PROMOTIONAL SELECTION PROCEDURES WERE NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO THE WORK PROBLEM; AND ADVANCEMENT TYPICALLY REQUIRED MOVEMENT AWAY FROM PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL JOBS AND INTO SUPERVISORY AND ADMINISTRATIVE JOBS. THE PROJECT TEAM RECOMMENDED REORGANIZATION OF STAFF USE TO REFLECT LOGICAL NEW FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG INDIVIDUAL PERSONNEL AS WELL AS AMONG PERSONNEL UNITS; DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING PROGRAM AND QUALIFICATIONS STANDARDS; JOB-RELATED WRITTEN TEST DEVELOPMENT; USE OF PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS; AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES. JOB TASK ANALYSIS IS A NECESSARY PRELIMINARY STEP TO CARRYING OUT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS. AN OUTLINE FOR CONDUCTING JOB ANALYSIS IS PRESENTED AS WELL AS A PROCEDURE FOR ALLOCATING ASSIGNMENTS TO JOB CLASSES. JOB CLASS SHOULD BE BASED ON COMBINED INFORMATION FROM POSITION DESCRIPTIONS, REPORTS OR DOCUMENTS, AND EVALUATIONS OF ASSIGNMENTS USING A QUANTITATIVE SYSTEM. APPENDED TABLES CONTAIN AN EXPLANATION OF JOB DESCRIPTION DATA AND CLASS SPECIFICATIONS DEVELOPED BY THE TEAM ON THE BASIS OF POSITION DESCRIPTIONS SUBMITTED BY SHERIFFS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.