Universal Dependencies - English - GUM

s-1

GUM_textbook_labor-1

Why the Division of Labor Increases Production

s-2

GUM_textbook_labor-2

When we divide and subdivide the tasks involved with producing a good or service, workers and businesses can produce a greater quantity of output.

s-3

GUM_textbook_labor-3

In his observations of pin factories, Smith noticed that one worker alone might make 20 pins in a day, but that a small business of 10 workers (some of whom would need to complete two or three of the 18 tasks involved with pin-making), could make 48,000 pins in a day.

s-4

GUM_textbook_labor-4

How can a group of workers, each specializing in certain tasks, produce so much more than the same number of workers who try to produce the entire good or service by themselves?

s-5

GUM_textbook_labor-5

Smith offered three reasons.

s-6

GUM_textbook_labor-6

First, specialization in a particular small job allows workers to focus on the parts of the production process where they have an advantage.

s-7

GUM_textbook_labor-7

(In later chapters, we will develop this idea by discussing comparative advantage.)

s-8

GUM_textbook_labor-8

People have different skills, talents, and interests, so they will be better at some jobs than at others.

s-9

GUM_textbook_labor-9

The particular advantages may be based on educational choices, which are in turn shaped by interests and talents.

s-10

GUM_textbook_labor-10

Only those with medical degrees qualify to become doctors, for instance.

s-11

GUM_textbook_labor-11

For some goods, geography affects specialization.

s-12

GUM_textbook_labor-12

For example, it is easier to be a wheat farmer in North Dakota than in Florida, but easier to run a tourist hotel in Florida than in North Dakota.

s-13

GUM_textbook_labor-13

If you live in or near a big city, it is easier to attract enough customers to operate a successful dry cleaning business or movie theater than if you live in a sparsely populated rural area.

s-14

GUM_textbook_labor-14

Whatever the reason, if people specialize in the production of what they do best, they will be more effective than if they produce a combination of things, some of which they are good at and some of which they are not.

s-15

GUM_textbook_labor-15

Second, workers who specialize in certain tasks often learn to produce more quickly and with higher quality.

s-16

GUM_textbook_labor-16

This pattern holds true for many workers, including assembly line laborers who build cars, stylists who cut hair, and doctors who perform heart surgery.

s-17

GUM_textbook_labor-17

In fact, specialized workers often know their jobs well enough to suggest innovative ways to do their work faster and better.

s-18

GUM_textbook_labor-18

A similar pattern often operates within businesses.

s-19

GUM_textbook_labor-19

In many cases, a business that focuses on one or a few products (sometimes called its “core competency”) is more successful than firms that try to make a wide range of products.

s-20

GUM_textbook_labor-20

Third, specialization allows businesses to take advantage of economies of scale, which means that for many goods, as the level of production increases, the average cost of producing each individual unit declines.

s-21

GUM_textbook_labor-21

For example, if a factory produces only 100 cars per year, each car will be quite expensive to make on average.

s-22

GUM_textbook_labor-22

However, if a factory produces 50,000 cars each year, then it can set up an assembly line with huge machines and workers performing specialized tasks, and the average cost of production per car will be lower.

s-23

GUM_textbook_labor-23

The ultimate result of workers who can focus on their preferences and talents, learn to do their specialized jobs better, and work in larger organizations is that society as a whole can produce and consume far more than if each person tried to produce all of his or her own goods and services.

s-24

GUM_textbook_labor-24

The division and specialization of labor has been a force against the problem of scarcity.