A description of the division of labour

1. Division of labour
Prepared by Sandrea Butcher

2. Objectives
 Define the term ‘division of labour’
 Outline the advantages and disadvantages of the division of labour

3. What is the division of labour?
 This occurs when the production process is broken up into a series of tasks.
 For example, at a school teaching is divided into year levels.

4. Advantages

5. 1. A worker who performs the same task
repeatedly will improve skills
 A worker will become competent when practicing the same task over time

6. 2. Time saving
 Since workers will not have to switch between tasks, time will be saved.

7. 3. Workers can choose the task for which
they have the greatest ability
 This means that there is greater efficiency in the allocation of human resources

8. 4. The use of machinery becomes possible
which can be utilized for a limited ranges of
tasks
Panel cutting machine at an American
football factory

9. 5. Output will increase over time

10. Disadvantages

11. 1. Work becomes monotonous
 Repeating the same task over time can become boring

12. 2. Workers find it difficult to find other jobs
which do not require the skill that they currently
possess
 Since workers concentrate on a limited range of tasks, it becomes harder to find
other jobs.

13. 3. The worker loses pride in the finished product
since he/she is just a part of the process
What is the
point of me
doing this?

14. 4. The interdependence of the process implies
that if one task is delayed bottlenecks could be
created
 If a machine breaks down at a particular task, the output of
the task prior to that will not be further processed
 Other subsequent tasks will be delayed.