Division of Labor

What It Means

The division of labor (also known as specialization) refers to a method of producing goods or providing services whereby a job is split into separate, distinct tasks or roles. Each task or role is then performed by one person or group of people; the person or group performs only that task or role, specializing in it. If a group of one hundred people were to build a ship without dividing the labor into categories and specializing, they would all work together on the hull (the frame of the ship), the decks, the sleeping quarters, and the sails. If this group were to divide the labor into categories and specialize, one group would build the hull, another the deck, another the sleeping quarters, and the final group would assemble the sails. When the first group finished the hull, they would begin constructing a hull for a second ship. Over time these workers would master all aspects of building the hull, but they would not necessarily be adept at building decks, sleeping quarters, or sails.

Workers often divide labor and specialize when they provide services, as well. For example, companies that offer house-cleaning services often send teams of cleaners to their customers’ residences. One of the cleaners vacuums, another washes floors, another dusts, and another cleans bathrooms. When the team is finished, they move to the next client’s house. Labor studies have shown that dividing labor and specializing significantly increases efficiency and production. With regard to shipbuilding, it has been shown that workers produce a greater number of ships and the ships are of a higher quality if the workers separate into teams and specialize in one aspect of the job. Likewise, teams of housecleaners do better, faster work when individuals specialize in one aspect of the cleaning process. The division of labor also helps to ensure a high degree of standardization, or consistency, in the process of production and in the quality of the final product. In the case of the shipbuilders, if workers master a specialized role, then the ships are likely to resemble each other. Standardization of products and services is crucial for large businesses looking to build a reputation for high-quality work with their client base.

When Did It Begin

Sir William Petty (1623–87), an English economist and philosopher, was one of the first people to publicize the advantages of specialization. In the 1640s, when he was in his twenties, Petty visited Dutch shipyards. Most manufacturers during that era built ships one at a time, deploying a large group of men on one ship and not beginning another until the previous vessel was completed. The Dutch, however, constructed several ships at once. They assembled teams of workers and made each team responsible for a different area of the ship. Petty noted that this approach produced ships more quickly; it also required less time and money to be spent on training the labor force. Instead of having to master all aspects of shipbuilding, a worker only had to know how to perform the tasks associated with his area of the ship.

After his stay in the Netherlands, Petty returned to England and began a distinguished career as a surveyor and a writer on such subjects as mathematics, statistics, economics, and philosophy. By the 1660s Petty had a wide readership, and at this time his early observations on the division of labor found a large audience. Throughout the Industrial Revolution, which began in the 1780s in England and spread to the rest of Europe and to the United States during the nineteenth century, manufacturers continually studied ways to get the highest level of productivity out of the labor force. Dividing workers into groups and making each group responsible for one part of a larger project did not become commonplace, however, until the beginning of the twentieth century, when the assembly line was first used in the American automotive industry.

More Detailed Information

Assembly lines in factories that produce large amounts of goods encourage a high degree of specialization. An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which the product being assembled moves on a conveyor belt past workers. As the product moves along the belt, workers add parts to it. For example, in an automobile manufacturing plant a car frame may be placed at the beginning of an assembly line and sent past the workers operating the line. As the car proceeds, workers along the line add parts to the car. One group might put the engine in, the next the radiator, and another group further down might operate a device that places the windshield on the car. The car proceeds to the end of the line until it is fully assembled. Each group of workers specializes in performing one task associated with the building of the car.

Although this approach to manufacturing produces a large number of identical vehicles in a short period of time, there are some drawbacks to the process. The most notable shortcoming is a high degree of worker dissatisfaction. Workers on assembly lines often find the work boring and unchallenging, for example. Because they repeat the same task thousands of times a day and contribute only one small part to the manufacture of the vehicle, these workers often feel no connection to the process. Such workers are not as likely to take pride in the quality of the finished product because they regard their contribution as small and insignificant. Their jobs, they reason, require no particular skill; any properly trained individual could perform the task. This attitude toward the job increases absenteeism (frequent absences) from work. Furthermore, workers trained to do only one aspect of a job have a limited amount of flexibility in the workplace. Their supervisors may deem them capable of performing only that one task. As a result the workers may have a hard time distinguishing themselves and moving to higher positions in the corporation.

Another problem with dividing labor into small, particular tasks is that if there is a problem in one part of the process, the entire process stalls. For instance, on an automobile assembly line, if the mechanisms responsible for placing the hood on the car break, the entire line may need to be shut down in order to fix the problem. This means that there will be a drastic reduction in output until the problem is fixed. Such breakdowns cost large corporations millions of dollars in lost revenues.

Despite these problems the division of labor is considered a necessary component of economic progress. If a corporation wants to produce a high volume of goods or serve a large number of clients, that corporation must develop a highly specialized workforce. Even within medium-sized firms the work staff is often divided into specialized groups. For example, in a technology firm of 30 people, workers will be responsible for distinct tasks that contribute to the success of the firm. The staff may include five or six salespeople whose job it is to recruit new clients. There may be two or three graphic designers who design websites, several programmers who write code, and a few individuals who provide technical support. In addition, the firm may ask several employees to monitor internal affairs, such as cash flow and inventory. Within such a company it would be unproductive to require workers to excel in more than one area. Programmers, for example, need to keep up to date with the latest techniques in their field. If these workers were asked to master sales techniques and to do the accounting for the money coming into the firm, their programming skills would lag.

Recent Trends

It has become common for companies in many developed countries (fully modernized countries with a large middle class and a skilled labor force) to have their products made in factories located in poorer countries. Nike sportswear, for example, is produced in factories in Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Dominican Republic, among other places. Companies like Nike produce their goods overseas because operating factories and paying workers is considerably less expensive in developing countries than in highly developed nations. Regulations in these developed countries set minimum standards for pay, safety in the workplace, and treatment of employees, especially those who perform specialized tasks on assembly lines. No such laws exist in many of the world’s less prosperous nations. To prevent abuses of worker rights in these parts of the world, the United Nations created the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 1919. Through a series of conventions throughout its history, the ILO has defined proper labor conditions for all workers.

In recent years, however, labor activists (people who try to protect the rights of workers) have noted that along with the rapid growth of the global economy, there has been a marked increase in violations of workers’ rights. Specifically, child labor laws and prohibitions against the abuse of workers have been violated more frequently in factories in Central America and Southeast Asia. To reverse this trend, such agencies as the Fair Labor Association (FLA) commission studies to verify reported abuses. The FLA also establishes emergency funds to provide monetary relief for workers in need. For example, in February 2007 Nike announced that it was decreasing its production in the Dominican Republic, forcing a BJ&B factory (the corporation that produced Nike’s goods in the Dominican Republic) to announce that it would have to close without giving its workers sufficient notice. According to some estimates, this meant a loss of more than 50,000 jobs. The FLA commissioned a legal report and sent financial aid to the workers. The organization took similar action in December 2006 when the Hermosa Manufacturing plant in El Salvador was closed abruptly.