6) Specialization and the Division of Labour - MB

Question 1

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

what is specialisation?

Answer 1

the process of concentrating on a task or activity in order to become an expert in it

Question 2

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

what is the division of labour?

Answer 2

a process whereby the production is broken down into a sequence of stages, and workers are assigned to particular stages

Question 3

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

what is barter system?

Answer 3

an economy without money so that transactions in goods and services rely on direct exchange

Question 4

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

what does it mean, “money as a medium of exchange”?

Answer 4

the function of money that enables transactions to take place

Question 5

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

what is labour productivity?

Answer 5

output per worker per unit of input; i.e. output per worker per hour or output per worker per machine

Question 6

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

how do you calculate productivity?

Answer 6

units of output/ units of input

Question 7

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

what is a market?

Answer 7

a place where buyers and sellers meet and trade

Question 8

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

what is the result of specialisation? (4 things)

Answer 8

• output increases
• workers become more skilled at tasks they perform more often
• workers develop better, and quicker, ways of performing tasks they do regularly
• makes trade more beneficial to economic agents

Question 9

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

where does specialisation and division of labour take place?

Answer 9

take place across firms and countries

Question 10

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

how does division of labour benefit firms?

Answer 10

• they can benefit from the quantity and quality of capital improving (and technology and machines can be developed to assist workers to increase their output)

Question 11

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

how can quality of labour improve?

Answer 11

• the quality of labour can be improved; firms can train their workers to be more productive in their specialised task

Question 12

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

what can firms do with their profit?

Answer 12

firms can further invest in capital and labour and, with potential for yet more profit, are incentivised to do so

Question 13

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

what are the drawbacks for specialisation and division of labour? (3 things, will expand on another flashcard)

Answer 13

1) dull for workers
2) inflexibility
3) can be dangerous for countries

Question 14

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

how is Specialisation and the Division of Labour DULL for workers?

Answer 14

a worker spending all their time on a repetitive task may find it boring, and become bored or careless

Question 15

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

how is Specialisation and the Division of Labour sometimes inflexible?

Answer 15

if workers become ill, may be difficult to cover their work

Question 16

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

how can Specialisation and the Division of Labour be dangerous for countries?

Answer 16

overspecialisation creates risk for countries if circumstances change and they can no longer trade for necessities such as food or energy

Question 17

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

to summarise how is Specialisation and the Division of Labour beneficial? (3 things, will expand in another flashcard)

Answer 17

1) more of everything
2) helps tackle scarcity
3) allows trade

Question 18

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

how does Specialisation and the Division of Labour help tackle scarcity?

Answer 18

Specialisation and the Division of Labour hepls economies to make the best possible use of the factors of production

Question 19

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

how does Specialisation and the Division of Labour allow trade?

Answer 19

Specialisation allows trade between economics agents and, because there is more output, for both to be better off than before

Question 20

Specialisation and the Division of Labour:

to Summarise: how does Specialisation and the Division of Labour create more of everything? (5 things)

Answer 20

• Firms get more output per worker, per hour, per machine
• Firms increase profits
• More productive workers can earn higher pay
• Firms are incentivised, with increased profit, to reinvest in better technology and better training
• Consumers get more choice at lower cost