This study examines the relationship in the public sector between resources and output, between the attainment of organizational goals and the allocation of resources to those functions found to be most productive in realizing those goals. Objectives, to be useful in assessing organizational effectiveness, must be expressed in terms that reflect the organization's reason for existence. Finite and quantifiable objectives based on an accurate description of the organization's overall product, when examined in relation to costs, yields the degree of productivity. Productivity requires some kind of measurable output. For law enforcement, this is expressed only as negative quantities: fewer crimes, fewer citizen's complaints, fewer arrests not resulting in a case filed, and fewer escapes. Productivity assessment for law enforcement begins with a review of current year program costs. Line item or functional account methods are inappropriate, because the intent is to determine the value and effect of what is done, rather than how or by whom. Resource management is a new and unfamiliar challenge for which no model has achieved wide acceptance. Productivity analysis and program costing provide a starting point.