3. Definition
• The division of labour occurs where production is broken down into
many separate tasks. Thus, each task is assigned to a person or group.
By doing so organisations intend to increase its efficiency
• Specialisation is when we concentrate on a product or task
• There are three main different forms of division of labour. They are
specialisation by:
• work,
• country
• location.
4. Forms of Division of Labour
• Certain jobs require workers to have special skills. As it suggests specialisation
by work is referred to divisional areas of occupations. For example, carpenters,
teachers and farmers are specialised by nature of their work. These works
cannot be carried out by a normal worker who does not have the specialised
skills.
• Similarly, some countries have better resources than the others for production
of certain goods and services. In this case, the country specialises in the
production of such goods and services.
• Specialisation can be in a regional/location level as well. This means that
certain works are carried out in a specific area of the world or the country
5. Advantages of Division of Labour
• Higher productivity and efficiency – e.g. rising output per person hour
• Lower unit costs leading to higher profits
• Encourages investment in specific capital – economies of scale
• Workers need less training as they only have to master a small number
of tasks
• Save time
• Workers can gain loyalty and a sense of achievement from their
branch of production.
• Workers can concentrate on those jobs which best suit their skills and
temperament.
6. Disadvantages of Division of Labour
• If workers are highly specialised, then the job can become very boring
and repetitive. This can lead to low labour morale.
• If workers lose the motivation to concentrate and do a good job,
mistakes may creep in as they get bored.
• An assembly line could grind to a halt if there is a blockage in one
particular area.
• Adam Smith himself recognised this potential problem and advocated
education of the workforce so that they wouldn’t get too demoralised
by their repetitive job.
7. Limitation of Division of Labour
• Although division of labour may bring about positive improvements to a
production process, there are limitations as well.
• Some tasks or processes are not divisible.
• Division of labour also depends on the nature of a good or service. Some
goods and services are not suitable for mass production which may not require
division of labour.
• Division of labour involves in continuous repetitive tasks being performed by
workers which may result in boredom and the worker taking less pride in his or
her work.
• Reduce the mobility of labour as workers may have to gain additional training
to shift jobs.
• A breakdown or slowdown in one task would affect the total production
process.
