Specialisation and the division of labour

Question 1

What is specialisation ?

Answer 1

Concentration of production on a small range of goods and services

Question 2

What are the pros of specialisation ?

Answer 2

Higher output as resources focused on most efficient production = higher growth

wide range of goods and services e.g companies use same tech but diversity e.g dyson

Greater allocative efficiency as resources only go to the most efficient to max output

Increased productivity of workers via better use of workers used to max potential and reduce costs + max quantity released

Question 3

What are the cons of specialisation ?

Answer 3

Finite resources - price changes of the resource can heavily impact production of overspecialised markets

Changes in fashion and tastes may not be supplied due to limited scope of production

If another place becomes more efficient ,deindustrialisation occurs which causes increased unemployment

National interdependence may cause international issues if trade blocs are used reducing benefit of specialisation

Question 4

What is the division of labour ?

Answer 4

Breaking down production into separate tasks upon specialisation

Question 5

What are the pros of using division of labour ?

Answer 5

Workers become very productive as work becomes easy to do - can reduce the amount of wastage and the costs of production to lower prices

Specialist capital for workers can improve productivity

Lower prices give better quality and choice for the customer

Question 6

What are the cons of using division of labour ?

Answer 6

Work can be boring / demotivating =lower productivity

Higher worker turnover as work is boring

Risk of long term unemployment via overspecialisation due to automation

Highly standardised goods / services loses the products uniqueness