Question

Justify the following in brief:

Division of labour encourages large-scale production.

Answer 1

The division of labour encourages large-scale production by enhancing efficiency, productivity, and cost-effectiveness through the specialisation of tasks. When a production process is divided into smaller, distinct tasks, each worker or group can focus on a specific part of the job, gaining expertise and speed in that particular function. This specialisation increases productivity because workers can perform repetitive tasks more quickly and accurately, leading to faster overall production.

Moreover, the division of labour allows for the integration of machinery and automation. Since tasks are broken down into simpler, repetitive steps, it becomes easier to design machines or assembly lines to carry out these tasks more efficiently. This mechanization further boosts productivity by reducing human error and increasing consistency in the production process.

As each worker or machine focuses on a specific task, production processes become streamlined, minimizing delays or downtime. This increases the scale of production, as businesses can produce more goods in less time. The overall cost per unit decreases due to the efficiency gains, allowing businesses to achieve economies of scale where the cost of producing each unit decreases as the total output increases.