Division of labor is an activity of separating a work process into many manageable small tasks. The idea aims at easing the management of these tasks. This is possible since a different person or a group of people performs each task. The simple tasks provide the best solution to some of the complex work processes. It also ensures that the right man gets the right work. Division of labor has its roots from the pioneers of philosophy and the world of civilization. Therefore, it is worthy to have a clear knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of this human discovered means.
The human labor in a company that uses division of labor attains different specializations. This ensures that only the right people do their right jobs. The long-term result of this is an appealing output. Moreover, the company becomes more efficient on top of being effective in its processes. In this case, the company expands financially due to its ability to satisfy its customers.
In a divided labor, the specialized units are always at the same place doing their jobs. There is minimal or no movement at all. This is very important to the company since employees spend all their time in production as opposed to in movement. This increases their efficiency in time management. This encourages quality of services employees give to the company
The Sumerians employed division of labor mainly because they wanted to improve the rate of production. This means that they spend few hours to produce numerous products. This is important for large-scale production. In modern production industries, division of labor is excellent in producing a high quantity of goods within a short period to meet the demand. It is through the reliability of an industry that many customers become loyal. The outcome of loyalty is the expansion of the market share of the industry.
The specialized labor takes less time to learn the requirements of their areas. This is because of a favorable quantity of requirement compared to learning everything in a work process. It can also improve inventions and innovations. This is possible especially when people try to get new ways of simplifying their tasks. These innovations assist the company by reducing the cost of production. It also increases efficiency of production while still giving a quality output.
Finally, the society benefits from all efforts the industry puts in increasing its quality and reliability. They obtain goods when they need them. They also enjoy the best quality that comes with low prices. This boosts the economic growth of the company and society. The markets widens because of many consumers who find attraction to the quality products.
Division of labor has several disadvantages despite its unlimited benefits. To begin with, none enjoys doing the same work every time. It is not appealing when the conditions of that work remain the same. Working at the same place with exact tools and neighbors is boring to employees. This results in reduced production.
In a specialized industry, there is great interdependence. This affects the smooth running of work process especially when one unit of workers is absent. In cases where one man performs the task, the process might stop entirely. This is clear from their specializations. There is no one able to perform every task in a process. This is a blow to an organization as little or no production goes on. This results in wasting a lot of time as the human labor available receives their payment despite not accomplishing their tasks.
In simplified tasks, the dynamic world might find a machine based solution to those tasks. If this happens, there are high chances of employees losing their jobs. This is a blow to the employees as they become unable to support themselves economically. This affects the entire society as many people eventually lose their jobs to newly innovated ways.
In conclusion, Division of labor is a key way to ensure economic growth of an industry due to its ability to increase production. It is a good way to increase the market share and the lives of people. It is the key to specialization, innovation and efficiency. Therefore, it is the way to go when thinking about reducing costs while increasing the quality of production.