Saturday, August 07, 2010

Labor Specialization Vs. Overspecialization

Labor specialization tends to increase an organization’s productivity. In Wealth of the Nations, Smith (1776) indicated that the benefits of labor specialization would increase in productivity: a worker’s skill and dexterity would increase. This division of labor would facilitate higher productivity and efficiency; such labor specialization breaks down the scope of jobs into narrow and repetitive tasks.

Using the pin manufacturing industry as an example, Smith (1776) stated that with each worker doing a specified task, a group of 10 workers would be able to produce 48,00 pins a day. However, if each individual were to work separately, performing separate tasks individually, the same group of people would only be able to produce within 10 pins a day... Read more>>

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