Specialisation and division of labour Flashcards
What is meant by specialisation and what do you understand by specialisation at individual level?
Specialisation refers to the concentration on a particular product/task. It refers to a situation whereby instead of making a wide range of products or performing various task, a country/region/individual concentrate only on specific production or activities or products.
Specialisation at the individual level takes place whenever a person concentrates on a particular activity instead of doing different task, jobs or activites.
What is division of labour and differentiate it with specialisation of labour.
Division of labour occurs when a complex production process is split into simpler task, to be performed by different persons or groups of persons. Each worker specialises in only one task and becomes expert in that part of the production process.
The specialisation of labour occurs when a person becomes an expert in a particular profession such as engineer, accountant or Economist. In contrast, division of labour occurs when a worker becomes an expert in a particular production process.
Advantages of DOL to workers
1) Workers have the opportunity to specialise on the task they are best at, improve their skills and dexterity and become experts in their fields
2) As the workers become specialist in their fields, their productivity and efficiency increases. Hence DOL allows workers to generate higher income. As wages are mostly productivity-based, the workers have the opportunity to earn more and improve their standard of living.
3) Workers are able to learn their jobs quickly and easily. Only shorter training period is required by the workers.
4) The fact that the quality of the product or service increases as workers become more skillful also mean their earning potential may increase
Disadvantages of DOL to workers
1) The work becomes repetitive and boring. As the worker performs the same task repeatedly, the work becomes monotonous. Ultmately, they may lose interest in their jobs, suffer from stress, strain, physical disorder, problem of eyesight, hearing problems and so on.
2) There may be a decline in craftmanship of workers, specialisation means that workers may be deskilled in other areas as there is a lack of flexibility. Consequently, this may increase the risk of unemployment once the worker becomes redundant as it is also difficult to have a similar jobs elsewhere and he does not have the needed skills for other jobs.
3) There is a lack of variety of task to workers and it is also difficult for workers to get promoted to higher positions.
4) Workers may become alienated especially if they are specialised in low-skilled jobs.
Advantages of division of labour to firms
1) There will be an increase in the productivity and output. As each worker becomes more productive, the total output of the firms will increase
2) The firm will have to provide only a short training period. Workers can be trained more quickly thereby reducing the cost of training to firms.
3) DOL allows firms to make a greater use of machinery and enable easier application of technology. The breakdown of the production process into simpler task make it easier to design machinery and workers can more easily manipulate them.
4) Firms will witness lower unit cost as the workers become more productive. Likewise, with more specialist worker, the quality of the products supplied by the firm will increase.
Disadvantages of DOL to firms
1) There is a risk that specialisation may lead to higher unit cost. Workers may get bored doing the same task repeatedly. They may lose interest in their jobs, and take more days off due to sickness. The labour turnover may be high implying more expenditure on training.
2) As the production process becomes over-specialised, the firm will become too-dependent on an individual or group of workers. Hence, if any group or person is absent, late or less productive, the whole production chain will be broken.
3) Having specialised staffs will make it difficult for other workers to cover up for those absent or on holidays.
4) There can be an easy spread of diseases such as the Covid-19 with too many workers together such as the manufacturing firms.
Advantages of DOL to the economy
1) There is efficiency gains. It allows the economy to make better use of scarce resources. This will lead to lower cost of production in the country.
2) Labour productivity increases at the national level. As workers concentrate on what they are best at, they become more and more skilled and this also leads to lower cost of production.
3) The productive capacity of the country increases. Hence, specialisation and DOL can help to shift the PPC of the country outward. Specialisation leads to increased national output and productive potential.
4) As the different firms will be operating on a larger scale, they will benefit a series of economies of scale which will reduce the LRAC
5) As the economy is producing more, better quality products and at lower cost, there will be improved competitiveness. Better prices and better quality products will make the country more competitive in the world market thereby boosting economic growth and improving the country’s standard of living.
Disadvantages of DOL to the economy
1) Consumers will lack variety of goods. Specialisation often leads to standardised, mass-produced goods.
2) Over-specialisation can cause regional or structural umeployment.
3) There will be a low occupational mobility of labour. Low skilled and poorly paid workers tend to receive little training. So many may not develop the necessary skills to find alternative jobs.
Limitation of DOL
The system of DOL is limited by the following:
1) The nature of the product may limit the practice of division of labour. It cannot be applied under all circumstances particularly where there is a special need for special care, touch and attention
2) The market size is a major limitation as DOL favours bulk production. There is a need for a large market that is a high demand for the goods
3) A shortage of labour may also cause a problem to the practice of DOL. To be able to divide complex production process into different stages and sub-stages, there is a need for a large number of workers.
