One of the most significant advancements in society’s business came from the division of labor. There are three roles in a business: landlord, manufacturer, and laborer. Landlord and manufacturer are often one person (and usually the same). There is no division there. However, in manufacturing, labor is divided into multiple roles. When divided, the productivity of the labor is the multitude of the sum of the productivity of each person working alone. When everyone takes a distinct role and the product results from the combination of everyone’s combined effort, the output is more than the sum of what each person can produce. Let’s say 10 people are working in a manufacturing setting, and each can produce two units per day individually. With division of labor, they can make 1000 units per day (instead of 2 × 10 = 20). This is the gain of the division of labor. It’s also the reason that cities are much richer than the villages. Because there are not many people to divide the labor or produce something on a farm throughout the year. The farm work is seasonal; you can’t employ ten people all the time. Typically, one person handles most tasks on a farm, and the produce is limited to the efforts of one or a few people.
- Related Note(s):
- Although we’re discussing the division of labor on a grand scale, I think the separation is also applicable to teams within an organization. Landlord: Executives, Manufacturer: Team Leads, Laborer: Individual contributors. More on 84;
- Once you know where you stand, it’s easier to find ways to penetrate another.
- Source(s): The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
