The Division of Labor in Society

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Table of Contents

Summary
The Definition of Division of Labor
The Importance of Division of Labor in a Capitalist Economy
International Division of Labor
Practical Example
References

Summary

The concept of division of labor is fundamental in any business or production. The division of labor has appeared for a long time and has been widely used by international companies and governments up to today. Thanks to this concept, any company can succeed by spending fewer resources, time, and physical strength. This paper states the definition of the concept, its types, its importance, and the practical example.

The Definition of Division of Labor

Labor is a conscious, purposeful human activity to produce spiritual or material goods. Since the production of a finished product, in most cases, requires the distribution of labor responsibilities between a certain number of people with different competencies, the concept of division of labor has appeared (Crossman, 2019). In short, this concept means the isolation and definition of various forms of labor activity. Thus, the division of labor is a historically established process of isolation, modification, and consolidation of certain types of labor activity, taking place in social forms of differentiation and implementation of various types of labor activity (Pettinger, 2017). Thus, the preservation of working time is a direct consequence of the division of labor.

There are several types of social division of labor:

The general division of labor is characterized by the isolation of significant types of activity, which differ from each other in the form of the product (agriculture, industry, etc.) (Pettinger, 2017);
Private division of labor is the process of separating individual industries within the framework of prominent types of production, divided into classes and subspecies (construction, metallurgy, machine tool building, animal husbandry) (Pettinger, 2017);
A single division of labor characterizes the isolation of the production of individual components of finished products and the allocation of separate technological operations (Pettinger, 2017). Separation of various types of work within the organization, enterprise, and its certain structural divisions (workshop, section, department, management, team) and the distribution of work between individual workers. As a rule, a single division of labor takes place within individual enterprises.

Thus, the social division of labor is differentiated by specialization orientation and deepening.

The Importance of Division of Labor in a Capitalist Economy

The emergence of the machine industry led to the creation and deepening of the social division of labor. Specialization or an increase in the number of manufactured products is the main manifestation of the process of division of labor under capitalism (Boyce, 2021). Under capitalism, there is also a division of labor within enterprises (Boyce, 2021). The spontaneous development of the division of labor under capitalism exacerbates the antagonistic contradiction between the social character of production and the privately-owned form of appropriation of the product, between production and consumption, etc. The development of capitalism causes the economic rapprochement of people and the development of the international division of labor. This progressive tendency under capitalism is realized through the subjugation of some people by others and the oppression and exploitation of people. Thus, the division of labor plays a vital role in developing a capitalist economy.

International Division of Labor

There is and is highly significant in the world community such concept as the international division of labor. The international division of work is the specialization of countries in producing certain types of goods. The government has cheaper factors of production and preferable conditions in comparison with other countries (Dear, 2018). With such discipline, the needs of countries are satisfied by their output and through international trade. It turns out that this is a way of organizing the world economy, in which enterprises from different countries specialize in the manufacture of specific goods and services and exchanging them (Dear, 2018). Thus, the international division of labor contributes to the prosperity of civilization.

To form an international geographical division of labor, three conditions are necessary – the advantages of the producer country, the interests of consumer countries, and the cost of transporting products. The international division of labor is based on differences in natural and climatic conditions, geographical location, raw materials, and energy sources (Dear, 2018). Economic systems are based on the division of labor, i.e., on the relative differentiation of activities. The division of activities in the country’s economy is carried out by groups of industries: industry, agriculture, construction, etc. Further differentiation occurs among individual sectors and sub-sectors (Dear, 2018). The international division of labor is built so each country can do what it specializes in.

Practical Example

An example of the division of labor is the production of the Ferrari car. The concept of the car itself, its design, ergonomics, and the entire lining of the car itself are thought out and developed in Italy. Due to the fact that in China, the production of individual automotive parts is more developed, Italy makes an order for particular needs from China. China designs and manufactures these parts and sends them to Italy. At the same time, Italian developers are working on the interior of the car, assembling the engine, and modifying the car, putting all the parts together. Thus, the division of labor demonstrates that each side of the car’s production is engaged in its specialization.