Specialisation,Division of Labour and Trade

Specialization

• A situation where, by agreement, people who are more suited to perform a task as a result of technical skill, location or any other qualification assume greater responsibility for the performance of that task.
• Under specialization people perform tasks that they are good at only.
• There are various types of specialization:
• Job specialization-this is where individuals that are adept at certain tasks are confined to those tasks within the business. For example in a garage we have one person dealing with wheel replacements and repairs, another dealing with auto-electronics, another with the suspension, yet another with painting etc depending on the specialty of the people involved.
• Regional Specialization-certain areas concentrate in producing certain products e.g. Hwange Produces coal and Katiyo tea estates produces tea.
• International specialization– certain countries have a comparative advantage in producing certain goods for example Japan produces motor vehicles because they have a distinct technological and skill advantage over Zimbabwe.

Advantages

• No time is wasted moving from one job to another. For example going from the pottery wheel to the furnace to complete the making of a clay pot.
• Workers become efficient and very skilled at the tasks they have been allocated.
• Makes mechanization and automation possible thereby greatly improving the speed of manufacturing products.
• Take advantage of the comparative advantage of certain areas.
• Time saved in training employees since they only need to learn the task which they have been allocated.
• Allows employees to concentrate in areas that interest them only.

Disadvantages.

• Loss of flexibility since workers stick rigidly to their allotted tasks.
• Monotony and workplace alienation can result from workers who constantly perform the same repetitive tasks.
• Can lead to stress and injury for example workers that have to bend constantly during work have a higher risk of developing back complications.
• Workers risk losing their jobs if their skill become obsolete.

Division of labour.

• Each worker does one job.
• Division of labour is an example of specialization.

Advantages

To the business.
• Specialist workers become quicker at producing goods.
• Reduced wastage and increased efficiency
• Less time is wasted moving from one job to another.

To the worker.

• Less time is needed in learning the skill
• Worker becomes more productive and has the opportunity to earn more.

Disadvantages
See disadvantages of specialization
The need for exchange (Trade)

• As a result of specialization people can no longer subsist on their own since they no longer produce all they need.
• For example a farmer would need a blacksmith to work on his hoe and conversely the blacksmith would need to eat.
• In order for both to satisfy all their needs and wants they need to trade outputs: the blacksmith exchanges his hoes for food from the farmer.
• This exchange is known as trading and it has been perfected over time through the use of money as a medium of exchange.
• People trade in order to be able to satisfy to meet those needs and wants they cannot satisfy on their own.
• Specialization therefore results in trade.

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