Lessons 5 · 1 lessons · E. Sariqov, B. Khaydarov. Foundations of Economics, Grade 8. “Huquq va Jamiyat” Publishing House, Tashkent, 2019
5
Division of labour and specialisation
Textbook: pp. 24–27
GoalCalculates labour productivity with U = Q : T and explains the advantages and disadvantages of division of labour and specialisation, and regional specialisation, with examples.
New words
division of labour: sharing out the stages of work among workers · mehnat taqsimotispecialisation: firms concentrating on one product or one part of a product · ixtisoslashuvlabour productivity: output per unit of time per unit of resource, U = Q : T · mehnat unumdorligiregional specialisation: a whole region adapting to produce one kind of product · hududiy ixtisoslashuv
Explanation
Productivity shows how much output resources give; labour productivity shows how much one worker (or one unit of a resource) produces in an hour or a day. We find it with the formula U = Q : T, where Q is the quantity produced and T the time spent (or worker-days). Productivity is raised by workers' skills, the quality of machine tools, a well-chosen technology and the division of labour. In the division of labour the work is split into stages and each worker does only his own part: he gains skill, time is saved, and it is easier to use machines. The drawbacks: repetitive work can be boring, and a worker specialised in one job may find it hard to find another if he loses it. Sharing out work among firms is called specialisation (for example, different plants make car parts), and when a whole region specialises it is regional specialisation. Specialisation is affected by market demand, transport costs and price changes.
Worked examples
In a workshop making milk desserts, 4 workers working for 6 days made 288 jars. Worker-days: 4 · 6 = 24. One worker's daily productivity is U = 288 : 24 = 12 jars.
In a packing job, one person doing everything alone prepares 12 packs per hour. If four people split the work (weighing, filling, sealing, labelling), together they prepare 60 packs per hour: 60 : 4 = 15 packs each – the division of labour raised productivity. Margilan silk-making or Rishton pottery are examples of regional specialisation.
Class activity
“Paper boats”: one pupil makes boats entirely alone for 2 minutes; then a group of four splits the work into stages. They compare the results and calculate U.
Practice
1
In a plant 3 workers working 8 hours made 720 parts. What is one worker's productivity per hour?
30
2
In a bakery 4 bakers baked 864 loaves in 6 hours. What is one baker's hourly productivity?
36
3
A worker spent 15 years at a plant only fitting car doors. The plant closed. What difficulty might he face, and why?
Because he knows no other job, it will be harder for him to find new work: this is a drawback of narrow specialisation. He may need retraining (learning a new trade).
4
Why might a farm stop specialising in a potato crop whose price stays low for several years in a row?
Because if the money from selling does not cover the production costs, it is better to switch to a more profitable crop: specialisation is influenced by price and demand.