Specialisation, Division Of Labour And Exchange

Question 1

What is specialisation?

Answer 1

when each worker completes a specific task in a production process - become better/ more efficnt

Question 2

Define division of labour

Answer 2

when a firms splits up its production process into smaller separate tasks and assign different workers to each task

Question 3

As a result of the division of labour, what does this mean for worker

Answer 3

worker are only doing one task they are able to specialise and be productive

Question 4

Define barter

Answer 4

when one good is swapped for another

Question 5

What is a limitation of bartering

Answer 5

It is difficult to find a double coincidence of wants, someone who has what you want and who wants what you have

Question 6

What is a solution to the limitations of bartering

Answer 6

Money
- people can both buy and sell using money.
This means people will be happy to buy the things they want to sell using money.

Question 7

What is money

Answer 7

Money is amedium of exchange

Question 8

State an advantage of money

Answer 8

• money allows us to trade with ease

Question 9

What has the division of labour allowed (trade and specialisation) and describe

Answer 9

specialisation within firms, also specialisation across countries
- countries specialise in producing a particular goods and services and then trading with other nations so that everyone benefits

Question 10

Division of labour (ADV): increase output

Answer 10

division of labour enables specialisation. When working each working is able to focus at what they are best at/ master their own task + use specialist equipment/ do not have to waste time switching between tasks = efficient = more productive,
- they can produce more, so they can increase there firms output

Question 11

Division of labour (ADV): increase quality

Answer 11

In mastering the task they dare assigned to, specialised workers can improve the quality of the product they are making

Question 12

Division of labour (ADV): decrease unit costs

Answer 12

the same workers working for the same amount of time can now produce more output in the same amount of time because they are more efficient/ productive

Question 13

Division of labour (ADV): firm saves money on training costs

Answer 13

firms will only have to train workers in one particular task = save

Question 14

Division of labour (DISADV): demotivation

Answer 14

workers are doing the same task every day = may get bored. This may reduce productivity as they loose interest in their job they may stop caring about the products they are producing = reduces quality

Question 15

Division of labour (DISADV): Absenteeism

Answer 15

when workers intentionally skip work (due to workers being bored)

Question 16

Division of labour (DISADV): unemployment

Answer 16

if you specialise in one particular task and leave/ loose your job without any other skills it may be hard to find another job

Question 17

Division of labour (DISADV): workers may quit

Answer 17

If specialised workers leave their jobs the whole production process will break down, no one else at the firm will be able to complete the task as they are specialised in another task = production will stop until the firm finds a replacement = extra recruitment costs/ training costs (recruitment/ retraining) = Increase costs

Question 18

Division of labour (DISADV): workers may quit - Define employee turnover

Answer 18

percentage of employees at the firm will quit their jobs

Question 19

Division of labour (DISADV): workers may quit - How does demotivation and employee turnover link

Answer 19

to find something more interesting to do with their careers = increases employee turnover (a high percentage of employees at the firm will quit their jobs)

Question 20

Specialisation and trade (ADV): more variety

Answer 20

different people, companies and countries can specialise in producing using their own gods and services = we get to enjoy goods and services around the world that we may not be able to produce in our countries

Question 21

Specialisation and trade (ADV): more output

Answer 21

by specialising in what we are good at, we can produce more output overall

Question 22

Specialisation and trade (ADV): increased trade

Answer 22

When you are specialised in producing a good or service, you need to trade with others to be able to enjoy other goods and services - more trade = businesses sell more products = creates more jobs and helps our economy grow

Question 23

Specialisation and trade (DISADV): over specialisation

Answer 23

If the industry declines = hard to find new job - skills may not be transferable = unemployment

Question 24

Specialisation and trade (DISADV): why is Natural resource depletion bad?

Answer 24

if this happens they will not have resources to trade for goods and services they want

Question 25

Specialisation and trade (DISADV): vulnerability and state the japan/ UK case study

Answer 25

having to rely on other to trade may be risky.

E.g - rely on countries like Japan for car parts but When Japan was hit by a tsunami japans production of car parts came it a halt = in the Uk we didn’t have he car parts necessary for the production of cars = production process was also disrupted

Question 26

State the advantages of specialisation

Answer 26

• more variety
• more output
• more trade

Question 27

State the disadvantages of specialisation

Answer 27

• over specialisation
• natural resource depletion
• vulnerable

Question 28

State the advantage of the division Of labour

Answer 28

• increase output
• increase quality
• reduces unit costs
• save on training

Question 29

state the disadvantages of the division of labour

Answer 29

• demotivation
• absenteeism
• workers may quit (increased employee turnover)
• unemployment

Question 30

Define comparative advantage of a good and state how countries can exploit their comparative advantage of a good

Answer 30

Comparative advantage is when countries can produce a good at a lower opportunity cost to another.
- countries can exploit there comparative advantage through specialising in the production of certain goods.