The division of labor between industries promotes growth. Social division of labor, specialization, cooperation and concentration. Definition of division of labor

Division of labor

Division of labor- historically established process of isolation, modification, consolidation of individual species labor activity which occurs in social forms of differentiation and implementation of various types of labor activity.

There are:

General division of labor by branches of social production;

Private division of labor within industries;

Single division of labor within organizations according to technological, qualification and functional characteristics.

It is the reason for increasing the overall labor productivity of an organized group of specialists (synergetic effect) due to:

  • Developing skills and automaticity in performing simple repetitive operations
  • Reducing the time spent moving between different operations

The concept of the division of labor is described quite fully by Adam Smith in the first three chapters of his five-volume treatise, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

Highlight social division of labor- distribution in society social functions between people - and the international division of labor.

Social division of labor- this is the division of labor primarily into productive and managerial labor. (F. Engels “Anti-Dühringe” op., vol. 20, p. 293)

The division of labor has led in the modern world to the presence of a huge variety of various professions and industries. Previously (in ancient times), people were forced to almost completely provide themselves with everything they needed; this was extremely inefficient, which led to a primitive life and comfort. Almost all achievements of evolution, scientific and technological progress can be explained continuous implementation division of labor. Thanks to the exchange of the results of labor, that is, trade, the division of labor becomes possible in society.

From the point of view of business engineering, division of labor is a functional decomposition of business processes. It is often possible to isolate such part of the functions as a separate type, which then becomes possible to entrust to automation or a machine. Thus, the division of labor continues to occur today and has a close connection, for example, with automation processes. In the field of intellectual work, its division is also possible and very useful.

The division of labor is the first link in the entire labor organization system. Division of labor is separation various types labor activity and dividing the labor process into parts, each of which is performed by a specific group of workers, united according to common functional, professional or qualification characteristics.

For example, the main method of work in accounting is the division of labor of specialists. We distribute the work of employees across areas accounting under the guidance of leading specialists and auditors, which allows them to achieve maximum efficiency of their work. Thus, we dynamically combine developments in the field of accounting automation and experience in the field of administration of accounting services.

see also


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

  • Political Economy
  • Masaryk, Tomas Garrigue

See what “Division of Labor” is in other dictionaries:

    DIVISION OF LABOR- The term "R. T." used in society. sciences in different meanings. Society R. t. denotes the differentiation and coexistence in society as a whole of various social functions, types of activities performed by certain people. troupes of people... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

    Division of labor- (division of labor) Systematic (but not necessarily pre-planned or imposed) division of functions, tasks or activities. Plato's Republic (Plato) mentions the functional division of labor: philosophers determine the laws... ... Political science. Dictionary.

    DIVISION OF LABOR Modern encyclopedia

    DIVISION OF LABOR- differentiation, specialization of labor activity, coexistence of its various types. Social division of labor is the differentiation in society of various social functions performed by certain groups of people, and the allocation in connection with this... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    Division of labor- DIVISION OF LABOR, differentiation, specialization of labor activity, coexistence of its various types. Social division of labor differentiation in society of various social functions performed by certain groups of people, and the allocation ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

    DIVISION OF LABOR- (division of labor) A system in accordance with which specialization occurs in the production process. It has two advantages: first, workers specialize in those types of work in which they have a comparative advantage (comparative... ... Economic dictionary

    Division of labor- (division of labor) Specialization of workers in the production process (or any other economic activity). Adam Smith (1723–1790) in his work The Wealth of Nations described the division of labor as one of the greatest contributions to the increase... ... Dictionary of business terms

    Division of labor- division labor functions between members of the work collective (unit, brigade) in accordance with the division production process into component processes and operations. [Adamchuk V.V., Romashov O.V., Sorokina M.E. Economics and sociology... ... Encyclopedia of terms, definitions and explanations of building materials

    division of labor- Differentiation of people’s activities in the process of joint work. [GOST 19605 74] Topics: organization of labor, production... Technical Translator's Guide

    DIVISION OF LABOR- English division of labour; German Arbeitsteilung. 1. A functionally integrated system of production roles and specializations within society. 2. According to E. Durkheim, a necessary condition for the material and intellectual development of society; source… … Encyclopedia of Sociology

Books

  • Justice in the national economy. Division of labor, G. Schmoller. Readers are invited to a book by the famous German economist and historian Gustav Schmoller, dedicated to the study of problems National economy. In the first part of the book, the author tries...

The division of labor is the most important pattern of economic progress.

Differentiation means division, dismemberment of the whole into various parts, forms and stages. Division of labor is differentiation, specialization of labor activity, leading to the separation and coexistence of its various types, isolation of types of labor activity in society. The division of labor can be functional and territorial. There are such types of functional division of labor as social and technical.

Social division of labor is the differentiation in society of various social functions performed by certain groups of people belonging to certain professional groups, and the separation in connection with this of various spheres of production and industries (general division of labor), which in turn are divided into sub-sectors (private division of labor ). For example, there are such sectors of the national economy as industry (heavy, light), agriculture (crop growing, livestock farming), transport (water, air, land), etc.

The social and technical division of labor finds expression in the professional division of labor. By acquiring a particular profession, an employee receives special knowledge to work in a certain field of activity; he does not perform all the work in production, but specializes in those types of work that he does more efficiently than other workers, i.e. has a comparative advantage.

The territorial division of labor can be regional, carried out between regions within the country, and international, carried out between different countries of the world.

The division of labor developed over many centuries as a result of the progress of productive forces and the increasing complexity of the organization of society. The factors of its deepening are scientific and technological progress, as well as the development of market relations. Scientific and technological progress leads to the emergence of new products and industries, and the expansion of markets facilitates exchange between product producers and helps meet their needs. In turn, the deepening division of labor - most important factor growth of labor productivity and improvement of product quality. Modern farming is highly specialized and relies on diversified mass production of a variety of goods. However, the division of labor can also create some problems, including the monotony of performing routine tasks, technological unemployment that arises in the absence of demand for certain professions, and chronic unemployment that threatens the economy if it is not able to absorb the labor force released as a result of an increase in labor productivity.

The division of labor takes place in the form of specialization. Specialization is a form of division of labor in which each economic entity concentrates its production efforts on one or more activities. She allows economic system use limited resources more efficiently and, as a result, produce and consume large quantity goods and services than in the absence of specialization.

The form of social division of labor is the specialization of production; it reflects the process of concentrating the production of certain types of products or their parts in independent industries, industries and specialized enterprises. Specialized production is characterized by uniformity of products and technological processes, special equipment and personnel.

The main types of production specialization are

subject,

detailed (nodal) and

technological.

Subject specialization means the production of finished final products (for example, automobile SHUDES, shoe factories, etc.), detailed specialization means the production of components (enterprises that produce parts and components, for example, an engine plant, an auto component plant, etc.), technological specialization means production semi-finished products (for example, foundries, forging and pressing plants in mechanical engineering).

Technical (unit) division of labor is the division of labor into a number of partial functions and operations within an enterprise or organization. It is typical for mass industrial production based on machine technology.

There are three main forms of social division of labor for the purpose of developing production: individual, private and general. The unit division of labor is expressed by the specialization of enterprises and their production units(workshops, areas). Specialization is understood as the concentration of production of a homogeneous (core) product of labor. It exists in the form of: subject form, detailed form (assemblies and parts of the product, parts) and technological form (stages and methods of production).

The subject form of specialization is understood as the isolation of the production of labor products that are ready for consumption and (or) exploitation (for example, the production of equipment, clothing, etc.).

The detailed (unit-by-unit) form of specialization is characterized by the separation of production of parts of the finished product (assemblies, parts) intended either for completing the manufactured product, or as spare parts for replacing those worn out during repairs, or as spare parts, tools and devices attached to the finished product .

The technological or staged form of specialization is the separation of individual phases (stages) of production as independent (for example, centralized foundry, forging and welding production).

To date, the types of specialization that have developed in practice in their three forms are classified, revealing more deeply the processes of differentiation of labor by gender, type, class, etc. not only at enterprises, but also in the regions, through a consistent transition from stage to stage.

From this trend it follows that the division of labor has reached new level, the level of private division of labor, occupying an intermediate place between the individual and public division of labor.

Thus, the development of specialization of an economic region inevitably leads to the need to clarify the stages of development of specialization of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, other administrative units (regions, districts, cities), industrial and agro-industrial complexes.

The development of specialization of industries and types of activities leads to a consistent limitation of the diversity of the range of products, components, parts, stages of production carried out in associations, enterprises, workshops and sites.

The production of products and parts used in various industries, the so-called inter-industry production (for example, the production of standardized parts, assemblies, fasteners), has long been distinguished.

Differentiation of production specialization by levels of classification of machines, units, parts and stages of the technological process leads to structural and technological homogeneity of product design (by type, class, type, type, stage of production) with a variety of needs and demand.

Based on the characteristics of the essence and forms of specialization, its development in any direction can be considered economically justified if it achieves the possibility of using advanced equipment, technology and production organization that ensure increased production efficiency.

Specialization is an endlessly developing process, and at each stage, at each time stage, it poses specific tasks and determines new methods and ways to solve them.

Specialization of production is inextricably linked with concentration of production and cooperation. Cooperation refers to established long-term production and economic ties between economic entities: regions, industries and directly enterprises that jointly produce certain products.

Enterprises participating in cooperation are, as a rule, economically independent, so supplies are carried out on a contractual basis. Enterprises are mainly in direct production dependence, especially when cooperative connections are determined by the technological process of joint production of products, but they can also be in indirect connection when cooperation is carried out only for the purpose of more fully utilizing capacities and is not determined by the main technological processes(there is excess capacity).

The forms and directions of cooperation in name and in essence coincide with the forms and directions of specialization, because they arise in connection with the development of specialization. The narrower the specialization of the object, the greater the number of related companies and other enterprises involved in the production of the final product.

Therefore, substantive, detailed and technological forms of cooperation are distinguished. The areas include cooperation between industries, associations, enterprises, economic and administrative regions, industrial complexes, etc.

Intra-district cooperation refers to the production connections of enterprises located in the same district. Inter-district cooperation refers to production connections between enterprises located in different regions.

Similarly, based on the industry affiliation of enterprises, intra-industry and inter-industry cooperation are distinguished.

The combined effect of specialization and cooperation is manifested in the concentration of production. The concentration of production based on the division of labor consists in the concentration of specialized (homogeneous) production both within the framework of technological systems, industrial enterprises, associations and industries, and within regions.

There are absolute and relative concentrations of production. Absolute characterizes the size of production units, and relative characterizes the distribution of the volume of production of homogeneous products between production units of different sizes.

Under the influence of social forms of division of labor and the development of scientific and technological progress, four types of processes of concentration of production have developed: aggregate, technological, factory and organizational and economic types.

Aggregate concentration consists of increasing the unit power of machines and equipment (units). For example, in the electric power industry the unit capacity of turbines is increasing, in mechanical engineering the production of multifunctional machines such as “Machining Center”, machine tools with numerical control, multifunctional computers, universal computer-aided design systems, powerful chemical equipment, etc. is growing.

Technological concentration is a way to increase production capacity. Such concentration can be developed intensively, on the basis of aggregate, and extensively, by increasing the number of units of the same type of equipment. An example of technological concentration is the capacity of specialized casting production - centrolites, spinning, weaving production, flow and mass production in machining and assembly, automated and automatic production in chemistry, light and food industries.

Factory concentration is carried out by increasing the size of enterprises and production facilities. It is developing not only on the basis of aggregate and technological concentration, but also through mergers, combining several industries into one. These are, as a rule, specialized enterprises (for example, AvtoVAZ) and industrial enterprises, including different production facilities of one or several industries.

Organizational and economic concentration consists of creating associations of enterprises. A large number of different associations have been formed in industries. All their modifications can be classified according to the following criteria: the nature of production activity; scale of activity; legal independence of the units included in the association; forms of specialization and concentration.

Based on the nature of production activities, associations are divided into production; scientific; scientific and production; educational and scientific associations (UNO); research and production (NPO); scientific and technical (STO); educational-research-production (UNPO); agro-industrial associations (APO); production plants (PC), etc.

All-Union, republican, regional, industry, inter-industry and local associations differ in scale and area of ​​distribution of activities.

The association may include legally independent enterprises, enterprises deprived of independence, when only the parent enterprise acts legal entity, and enterprises of mixed ownership. When an association has a parent enterprise that has legal rights, representing an association, all the others operate as production facilities, workshops that do not have legal rights, or as enterprises with limited legal independence granted to them by the association.

Since the main principle of creating an association is the concentration of production on the basis of specialization, then on this basis they are also mainly divided into associations with subject, detailed and technological forms of specialization of work, types of activities, and products manufactured in a certain territory.

Similar materials

Primitive communal model of economic development: main stages of formation and features.

Signs:

Low level of development of productive forces and their slow improvement

Collective appropriation of natural resources and production results

Equal distribution, social equality

Lack of private property, exploitation, classes and state

Low rates of development of society.

Stages:

Paleolithic (ancient Stone Age) – 3 million – 12 thousand years BC.

Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) – 12 – 8 thousand years BC.

Neolithic (New Stone Age) – 8 – 3 thousand years BC.

1st early Paleolithic (up to 100 thousand years BC). Pithecanthropus, Sinanthropus, Neanderthals - gathering, fishing and driven hunting.

2-Middle Paleolithic (ended 40 thousand years ago). Cro-Magnon man along with Neanderthals. Articulate speech. Making fire. Stone technology.

3-Late Paleolithic (ended in the 12th millennium BC). Matriarchy. Social prohibitions. Simple appropriative economy - hunting, fishing and gathering. The level of stone technology has increased. Labor as simple cooperation without division. Everything is collectively owned. Labor distribution of production. Exchange between communities.

4-Mesolithic (XII-VIII millennium BC). Individual hunt. Improvement of weapons, appearance of the bow. New techniques in fishing. Lightening the weight and reducing the volume of stone tools. The appropriative economy of low-level hunter-gatherers and fishermen. The principle of collectivization. Use of boats. Development of new lands. Several nearby clans began to unite into a tribe. Patriarchy.

5-Neolithic (VIII-IV millennium BC). The first social division of labor into agriculture and cattle breeding. Then the second social division of labor - the separation of crafts from Agriculture– individualization of labor, the emergence and development of private property. The first craft is pottery production. "Neolithic Revolution" - emergence new technology, forms of production and way of life, development of new territories and their effective use. The origin of exchange – because surplus agricultural and handicraft industries appeared. Transition to a sedentary lifestyle.

6th Eneolithic (4-3 thousand BC). The appearance of metals - copper, gold, bronze. The system of irrigated and plow agriculture, increasing wealth inequality.

The first and second social division of labor: causes, essence and consequences.

First division of labor:

Prerequisites:

The emergence and spread of agriculture in fertile areas, then the domestication of animals, which often provided greater income than agriculture. Some tribes even completely switched to cattle breeding.


Essence:

In the total mass of primitive tribes, two groups were distinguished: pastoral and agricultural.

Consequences:

1. transition to a sedentary lifestyle

2. increase in labor productivity

3. the possibility of accumulating reserves (wealth)

4. the origin of trade (in-kind exchange)

5. development of religion and art.

Second division of labor:

Causes:

The emergence of free time due to increased labor productivity (less time and energy was required to obtain food), the emergence and development of crafts.

Essence:

Separation of crafts from agriculture.

Consequences:

1. individualization of labor

2. development of private property

RESULT:

Transition to a producing economy:

Variety of products intended for exchange

Extensive exchange system

The need to introduce a universal equivalent.

Why does division of labor and specialization improve productivity? and got the best answer

Answer from Nikolay Golubtsov[guru]
The simpler the work, the easier it is to teach, the easier it is to control, the easier it is to increase the speed of work.

Answer from Ѐilgrim[guru]
This is what NOT says.


Answer from Nikolay Mavrin[guru]
Objective reality.


Answer from Imur Ivanov[guru]
It depends. It depends on how this work is provided and organized as a whole. If there are enough narrow specialists to complete each cycle of the production process, then of course it helps. If, for example, you have a private enterprise in which only a janitor sweeps the porch and another person who can very skillfully perform only one production operation works, and 50 are required, then of course not... doesn't help.


Answer from N_esta[newbie]
""Specialization in the production process. A set of works can usually be completed cheaper by a large number people each performing a small number of specialized tasks rather than one person attempting to complete all the work. The idea that specialization reduces costs, and thus the consumer pays the price, is embedded in the principle of comparative advantage. Division of labor is the basic principle underlying the assembly line in mass production systems. ""


Answer from NO[guru]
An innate property of all living things, including Humans, is the desire to reduce the costs of one’s activity in order to achieve any goal. When repeating similar conditions for achieving similar or identical goals, learning how to achieve a goal means selecting the least expensive method. And labor productivity is the amount of expenditure (no matter what - calories, time) to obtain the goal - the product.


Answer from Andrey Kuznetsov[expert]
It’s more convenient, easier and clearer for a person to work this way.

The basis of economic development is the creation of nature itself - the division of functions between people, based on their gender, age, physical, physiological and other characteristics. The mechanism of economic cooperation assumes that some group or individual focuses on performing a strictly defined type of work, while others are engaged in other types of activities.

There are several definitions of the division of labor. Here are just a few of them.

Division of labor- this is a historical process of isolation, consolidation, modification of certain types of activity, which occurs in social forms of differentiation and implementation of various types of labor activity. The division of labor in society is constantly changing, and the system of various types of labor activity itself is becoming more and more complex, as the labor process itself becomes more complex and deepening.

Division of labor(or specialization) is the principle of organizing production in an economy, according to which an individual is engaged in the production of a separate good. Thanks to the action of this principle, with a limited amount of resources, people can receive much more benefits than if everyone provided themselves with everything they need.

There is also a distinction between the division of labor in the broad and narrow sense (according to K. Marx).

In a broad sense division of labor is a system of different types of labor that are different in their characteristics and simultaneously interact with each other, production functions, occupations in general or their combinations, as well as the system public relations between them. The empirical diversity of occupations is considered by economic statistics, labor economics, branch economic sciences, demography, etc. The territorial, including international, division of labor is described by economic geography. To determine the relationship between various production functions from the point of view of their material result, K. Marx preferred to use the term “distribution of labor.”

In the narrow sense division of labor- this is the social division of labor as human activity in its social essence, which, unlike specialization, is a historically transitory social relationship. Specialization of labor is the division of types of labor by subject, which directly expresses the progress of the productive forces and contributes to it. The diversity of such species corresponds to the degree of human exploration of nature and grows with its development. However, in class formations, specialization is not carried out as a specialization of integral activities, since it itself is influenced by the social division of labor. The latter divides human activity into such partial functions and operations, each of which in itself no longer has the nature of activity and does not act as a way for a person to reproduce his social relations, his culture, his spiritual wealth and himself as an individual. These partial functions are devoid of their own meaning and logic; their necessity appears only as demands placed on them from the outside by the system of division of labor. This is the division of material and spiritual (mental and physical), executive and managerial labor, practical and ideological functions, etc. An expression of the social division of labor is the separation of material production, science, art, etc. as separate spheres, as well as the division themselves. The division of labor historically inevitably grows into a class division.

Due to the fact that members of society began to specialize in the production of individual goods, professions– individual types of activities related to the production of any good.

But the division of labor does not at all mean that in our imaginary society one person will be engaged in one type of production. It may turn out that several people will have to do a separate species production, or so that one person will be engaged in the production of several goods.

Why? It's all about the relationship between the size of the population's need for a particular good and the labor productivity of a particular profession. If one fisherman can catch just enough fish in a day to satisfy all members of society, then there will be just one fisherman in this household. But if one hunter from the mentioned tribe cannot shoot quails for everyone and his work is not enough to satisfy the needs of all members of the household for quails, then several people will go hunting at once. Or, for example, if one potter can produce so many pots that society cannot consume, then he will have Extra time, which he can use to produce some other good, such as spoons or plates.

Thus, the degree of "division" of labor depends on the size of society. For a certain population size (that is, for a certain composition and size of needs), there is its own optimal structure of occupations, in which the product produced by different producers will be just enough for all members, and all products will be produced at the lowest possible cost. With an increase in population, this optimal structure of occupations will change, the number of producers of those goods that were already produced by an individual will increase, and those types of production that were previously entrusted to one person will be entrusted to different people.

In the history of the economy, the process of division of labor went through several stages, differing in the degree of specialization of individual members of society in the production of one or another good.

The division of labor is usually divided into several types depending on the characteristics by which it is carried out.

Natural division of labor: the process of separating types of labor activity by gender and age.

Technical division of labor: determined by the nature of the means of production used, primarily equipment and technology.

Social division of labor: natural and technical division of labor, taken in their interaction and in unity with economic factors, under the influence of which there is a separation and differentiation of different types of labor activity.

In addition, the social division of labor includes 2 more subtypes: sectoral and territorial. Sectoral division of labor is predetermined by the production conditions, the nature of the raw materials used, technology, equipment and the manufactured product. Territorial division of labor is the spatial arrangement of various types of work activities. Its development is determined both by differences in natural and climatic conditions and by economic factors.

Under geographical division of labor we understand the spatial form of the social division of labor. A necessary condition for the geographical division of labor is that different countries (or regions) work for each other, that the result of labor is transported from one place to another, so that there is thus a gap between the place of production and the place of consumption.

In a commodity society, the geographical division of labor necessarily involves the transfer of products from farm to farm, i.e. exchange, trade, but exchange in these conditions is only a sign for “recognizing” the presence of a geographical division of labor, but not its “essence”.

There are 3 forms of social division of labor:

The general division of labor is characterized by the separation of large types (spheres) of activity, which differ from each other in the form of the product.

Private division of labor is the process of separating individual industries within large types of production.

A single division of labor characterizes the separation of the production of individual components of finished products, as well as the separation of individual technological operations.

Differentiation consists in the process of separating individual industries, determined by the specifics of the means of production, technology and labor used.

Specialization is based on differentiation, but it develops on the basis of concentrating efforts on a narrow range of products.

Universalization is the antithesis of specialization. It is based on the production and sale of a wide range of goods and services.

Diversification is the expansion of the range of products.

The first and main statement that A. Smith puts forward, which defines the greatest progress in the development of the productive power of labor and a significant share of the art, skill and intelligence with which it (progress) is directed and applied, is a consequence of the division of labor. The division of labor is the most important and unacceptable condition for the progress of the development of productive forces, the development of the economy of any state, any society. A. Smith leads simplest example the actions of the division of labor in small and large enterprises (manufacture in contemporary society) - the elementary production of pins. A worker who is not trained in this production and does not know how to handle the machines used in it (the impetus for the invention of machines was given precisely by the division of labor) can hardly make one pin a day. When an organization exists in such production, it is necessary to divide the profession into a number of specialties, each of which is a separate occupation. One worker pulls the wire, another straightens it, the third cuts it, the fourth sharpens the end, the fifth grinds it to attach the head, the manufacture of which requires two or three more independent operations, in addition to fitting it, polishing the pin itself, and packaging the finished product. Thus, labor in the production of pins is divided into a multi-stage series of operations, and depending on the organization of production and the size of the enterprise, they can be performed each separately (one worker - one operation), or combined into 2 - 3 (one worker - 2 - 3 operations ). Using this simple example, A. Smith asserts the undoubted priority of such a division of labor over the work of a single worker. 10 workers produced 48,000 pins per day, while one could produce 20 pins at high voltage. The division of labor in any craft, no matter how large it is introduced, causes an increase in labor productivity. The further development (up to the present day) of production in any sector of the economy was the clearest confirmation of A. Smith’s “discovery”.