Specialization and division of labour

Specialization and division of labour

1. Specialization Specialization can be done through a number of ways that include the following:

2. Individuals can be experts in their area of work e.g. an accountant, a bricklayer, a doctor, a carpenter, etc. Region or country — a particular area can concentrate on production of certain goods especially for export, e.g. the Middle East produces oil and Botswana produces beef Industries can concentrate on production of certain commodities such as clothing, soap, books, food, shoes etc. Specialisation can therefore be seen as the concentration of production in a single task or several related tasks.

3. Advantages of division of labour specialization Repetition of the same task improves expertise and results in the worker knowing his or her job very well and that increases productivity and output. Time is saved as the worker is only trained in one single task.This makes learning easy and affordable. There are greater opportunities to use machinery. This paves way for easier learning of the use of machinery It improves quality at very low costs.

4. Division of Labour Division of labour refers to the breaking down of the production process into a number of categories so that each person or a group of individuals performs specific tasks. Sometimes in a society, division of labour may come from both social inequalities inherited from the past and the desire to produce more exchange. It can also be influenced by geographical factors and the availability of specific resources,

5. Division labour cont. for example, the presence of oil allows Iran and Iraq to specialise in oil production. Division of labour in industrial societies is based on qualification and skills unlike in traditional societies where labour was distributed according to gender . Division of labour can therefore be observed at several levels of production such as the family, individual, firm, nation and even at the international level.

6. Advantages of division of labour and specialisation Repetition of the same task improves expertise and results in the worker knowing his or her job very well and that increases productivity and output Time is saved as the worker is only trained in one single task. This makes learning easy and affordable There are greater opportunities to use machinery. This paves way for easier learning of the use of machinery It improves quality at very low costs.

7. Disadvantages of division of labour and specialisation Division of labour and Specialisation also have their shortcomings and they include the following: Specialisation tends to encourage the use of machines rather than the use of people There tends to be less variety of goods due to standardisation of products It results in boredom and monotony since repetition of the same task can become             boring

8. Disadvantages of division of labour and specialisation cont. Specialisation increases inter dependency in the line or chain of production. If       disruption occurs in one part of the line, the whole system will stop working The excessive use of machinery in production leads to loss of individual crafts      manship . Today creativity has declined, most items look the same even though they        are produced by different manufacturers, e.g. shoes, cars, television sets etc. It increases labour immobility because when individuals become specialised in their   jobs , they become so inflexible.