Division of labour

The division of labour is the separation of the tasks in any <a href="/facts/Economic_system/N4SBdoxS">economic system</a> or <a href="/facts/Organisation/CR83f1Rn">organisation</a> so that participants may specialise (<a href="/facts/Departmentalization/Gesj0Y5d">specialisation</a>). Individuals, organisations, and nations are endowed with or acquire specialised capabilities, and either form combinations or trade to take advantage of the capabilities of others in addition to their own. Specialised capabilities may include equipment or <a href="/facts/Natural_resource/w9WXxMx3">natural resources</a> as well as skills. Training and combinations of equipment and other assets acting together are often important. For example, an individual may specialise by acquiring tools and the skills to use them effectively just as an organisation may specialise by acquiring specialised equipment and hiring or training skilled operators. The division of labour is the motive for <a href="/facts/Trade/S13U8JKr">trade</a> and the source of <a href="/facts/Economic_interdependence/BkVR5sng">economic interdependence</a>.

An increasing division of labour is associated with the growth of total <a href="/facts/Output_(economics)/7joYTeNk">output</a> and <a href="/facts/Trade/S13U8JKr">trade</a>, the rise of <a href="/facts/Capitalism/FbPc6TTw">capitalism</a>, and the increasing complexity of <a href="/facts/Industrialisation/h3QXzS6C">industrialised</a> processes. The concept and implementation of division of labour has been observed in ancient <a href="/facts/Sumer/bxRz093q">Sumerian</a> (<a href="/facts/Mesopotamia/f0mmbhTK">Mesopotamian</a>) culture, where assignment of jobs in some cities coincided with an increase in trade and economic interdependence. Division of labour generally also increases both producer and individual worker productivity.
After the <a href="/facts/Neolithic_Revolution/P5tLdcgU">Neolithic Revolution</a>, pastoralism and agriculture led to more reliable and abundant food supplies, which increased the population and led to specialisation of labour, including new classes of artisans, warriors, and the development of elites. This specialisation was furthered by the process of <a href="/facts/Industrialisation/h3QXzS6C">industrialisation</a>, and <a href="/facts/Industrial_Revolution/B6E3Fasm">Industrial Revolution</a>-era factories. Accordingly, many <a href="/facts/Classical_economics/6BQSnj5o">classical economists</a> as well as some mechanical engineers, such as <a href="/facts/Charles_Babbage/T3jklQcd">Charles Babbage</a>, were proponents of division of labour. Also, having workers perform single or limited tasks eliminated the long training period required to train craftsmen, who were replaced with less-paid but more productive unskilled workers.

Division of labour open-in-new

Division of labour