Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,793,186,835 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

division of labour
(redirected from Specialization of labor)

   Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.

division of labour

Specialization in the production process. Complex jobs can usually be less expensively completed by a large number of people each performing a small number of specialized tasks than by one person attempting to complete the entire job. The idea that specialization reduces costs, and thereby the price the consumer pays, is embedded in the principle of comparative advantage. Division of labour is the basic principle underlying the assembly line in mass production systems. See Émile Durkheim.



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
A September 2005 Cambridge Journal of Economics essay by Steven Horwitz, which lays out a Hayekian defense of the family, posits that the more time saved by outsourcing and labor-saving devices, the more time parents can spend "being involved with their children in extracurricular activities such as sports or the arts" The brand of "round-the-clock worry" motherhood that Flanagan says she's chosen to pursue is helped, not hindered, by increased specialization of labor.
The right outsourcing decisions recognize two prosaic economic concepts: specialization of labor and economy of scale.
For example, division or specialization of labor, organizing work into functional departments, the desirability of backlogs, and other of Taylor's basic efficiency-oriented ideas actually work against attainment of both high quality and lowest total cost as defined by the competitive environment of the 1980s and 1990s.
 
Encyclopedia browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.