Th1.1: Specialisation and DOL in Organising Production

Question 1

What will the degree to which specialisation or the division of labour be possible depend on?

Answer 1

the nature of the task and the size of the firm

Question 2

Advantage 1

Answer 2

the division of labour enables labour productivity to be increased. workers will be better when focusing on one task and therefore be more efficient

Question 3

Advantage 2

Answer 3

higher quality of goods and services, since workers are more skilled at their jobs

Question 4

Advantage 3

Answer 4

it is more cost effective to develop specialist tools, improving speed or quality

Question 5

Advantage 4

Answer 5

time is not wasted moving between jobs

Question 6

Advantage 5

Answer 6

workers only need to be trained to do one specific task, saving time and money

Question 7

Disadvantage 1

Answer 7

poor quality of work and people leaving business as doing same task can get very boring

Question 8

Disadvantage 2

Answer 8

reduction in craftsmanship - much more standardised product

Question 9

Disadvantage 3

Answer 9

if one part of production is delayed, it will affect all others

Question 10

Disadvantage 4

Answer 10

workforce do not have wide industrial training and could suffer from structural unemployment