Home Berries The historical process of separating individual types of activities. The concept of the division of labor. Types of division of labor

The historical process of separating individual types of activities. The concept of the division of labor. Types of division of labor

The division of labor (or specialization) is the principle of organizing production in the economy, according to which an individual is engaged in the production of a separate good. Thanks to the operation of this principle, with a limited amount of resources, people can receive much more benefits than if everyone would provide himself with everything he needs.

The division of labor involves the specialization of individual performers in the performance of a certain part working together, which cannot be carried out without clear coordination of actions of individual workers or their groups.

The division of labor is characterized by qualitative and quantitative characteristics. The division of labor on a qualitative basis involves the separation of types of work according to their complexity. Performing such work requires special knowledge and practical skills. The division of labor on a quantitative basis ensures the establishment of a certain proportionality between qualitatively different types of labor. The combination of these features largely predetermines the organization of labor as a whole.

Ensuring a rational division of labor at the enterprise within the framework of one or another labor collective(brigade, site, shop, enterprise) is one of the important areas for improving the organization of labor. The planning and equipment of workplaces, their maintenance, methods and techniques of labor, its regulation, payment and ensuring favorable working conditions largely depend on the choice of forms of division. The division of labor at the enterprise, in the shop determines the quantitative and qualitative proportions between individual types of labor, the selection and placement of workers in the production process, their training and advanced training.

Correctly chosen forms of division of labor and its cooperation make it possible to ensure a rational workload of workers, precise coordination and synchronization in their work, and to reduce wasted time and equipment downtime. Ultimately, the amount of labor costs per unit of output and, consequently, the level of labor productivity depend on the forms of division of labor. This is economic essence rational division of labor.

The division of labor in society has three types: general, particular, individual.

General division labor is a division on the scale of the whole society into such large areas as production and non-production, industrial, agricultural, construction, transport, trade, scientific, sphere government controlled etc.

Private division of labor there is a deepening of the process of isolation of labor within each sphere and industry into separate specialized subsectors and enterprises and organizations.


Unit division of labor means the separation of various types of work within the enterprise:

First, within the framework of its structural units(workshop, site, team, department);

Secondly, between professional groups employees, within groups - between employees of different qualifications;

Thirdly, the operational division of the labor process, which can be deepened to separate labor techniques.

The unit division of labor is subdivided into forms: technological, functional, professional and qualification.

Technological division of labor based on the segregation of works on the basis of their technological homogeneity, it can be enlarged and element-wise, depending on the type of production.

There are four types of technological division of labor: subject, detailed, operational, by type of work.

With the subject division of labor, the performer is assigned the performance of work associated with the manufacture of a finished product. (Used in one-off production).

The detailed division of labor consists in assigning to workers the manufacture of the finished part of the product - the part.

The operational division of labor is used when the process of manufacturing a part within a given phase is divided into separate operations, each of which is performed by a separate performer. Used in mass production.

Technological division by type of work is used when the above types are not suitable, for example, welding, painting.

Based on the technological division of labor, the work performed, functions are distinguished, i.e. the functional division of labor is determined.

Functional division of labor reflects segregation individual groups workers depending on the production functions they perform.

The following groups are distinguished: employees, workers, junior service personnel, students, security.

Employees - divided into managers, specialists, other employees (technical executors). Workers are subdivided into basic, engaged in the production of basic products, and auxiliary, performing work on the maintenance of production.

Organizational structure enterprise management is determined by the functional division of labor, ensuring the implementation of the main technological function, serving the technological function, management function.

Professional qualification division of labor consists in the division of workers by professions and specialties and is a distribution of work, depending on their complexity between workers of different qualification groups.

Profession - the type of activity (occupation) of a person who possesses certain theoretical knowledge and practical skills obtained as a result of vocational training.

Specialty - the specialization of an employee within the profession.

The qualification level of workers is established on the basis of the assignment of qualification categories to them. The level of qualifications of managers and specialists is determined by the positions they hold. Categories are established for specialists.

The division of labor has positive and negative aspects. Its economic importance is due to an increase in labor productivity, rapid mastering of professions, and low costs of creating jobs. From social and physiological positions, the consequences of the division of labor can be narrow specialization, impoverishment of the content of labor, monotony, monotony of labor, fatigue.

Designing the division of labor in enterprises by making optimal organizational decisions is very effective and is one of the most promising directions improving the organization of work.

The most important conditions for the efficiency of the division of labor are: a sufficiently large volume of production and a high level of its specialization; enough a large number of technological equipment; correspondence between the number of operations and jobs; the fragmentation of operations and works should not reach such an extent that the time savings on the main operations are absorbed by the increased time spent on auxiliary and transport.

Economic development is based on the creation of nature itself - the division of functions between people, based on gender, age, physical, physiological and other characteristics. But man was able to make a qualitative step forward and move from the natural division of functions to the division of labor, which became the basis of the economy and socio-economic progress. The mechanism of economic cooperation between people assumes that some group or individual is focused on performing a strictly defined type of work, while others are engaged in other activities.

Division of labor

If we pay attention to the isolation of the types of activities that are performed by each member of society, then we can see that all people by the nature of their occupations, activities, functions performed are isolated in one way or another from each other. This isolation is the division of labor. Consequently, the division of labor is a historical process of isolation, consolidation, modification of certain types of activity, which takes place in social forms differentiation and implementation of various types labor activity.

Now we know that in our lives we are doomed to perform only certain types of activities, while in the aggregate they represent a "boundless sea" for the free choice of the method and direction of our "navigation". But are we really free if our activity is narrowly focused? Why is it so that, performing only a rather narrow and specific type of activity, we have all the necessary benefits that are not connected in any way or are connected very conditionally with our labor activity? After some reflection, we can come to the conclusion that people have everything (or almost everything) they need only because they exchange the results of their work.

The division of labor in society is constantly changing, and the very system of various types of labor activity is becoming more and more complex, since the process of labor itself is becoming more complex and deepening.

By concentrating efforts on the manufacture of one thing and exchanging the products of his labor for the products of the labor of other people, a person soon discovered that this saves him time and effort, since the productivity of all participants in the exchange of goods increases. And therefore launched in deep antiquity the mechanism for expanding and deepening the division of labor is working properly to this day, helping people to make the most rational use of available resources and get the greatest benefit.

The isolation of various types of labor activity creates conditions for each participant in the production process to achieve high skill in their chosen business, which ensures a further improvement in the quality of manufactured products and an increase in their output.

Productivity and labor intensity

It can be concluded that a commodity is a product of labor intended for exchange in order to satisfy social needs, i.e. the needs of not the commodity producer himself, but of any member of society. As already noted, any commodity has an exchange value, or the ability to exchange in a certain proportion for other goods. However, all goods are exchanged only because they can satisfy this or that need. This is the value of the acquired good by this or that economic entity.

Commodity exchange and commodity circulation

Initially, people entered into a simple commodity exchange, or such a relationship of exchange in which the sale and purchase of goods coincided in time and took place without the participation of money. The form of such a commodity exchange is as follows: T (goods) - T (goods). As a result of the development of commodity exchange, more and more opportunities opened up for the isolation of types of activity, because the guarantee of obtaining the missing goods or products increased, the production of which the commodity producer deliberately refused. In the process of development of commodity relations, commodity exchange underwent significant transformations until it was replaced by commodity circulation, which is based on money - a universal means of purchase that has the ability to exchange for any commodity.

With the emergence of money, exchange was divided into two opposite and complementary acts: sale and purchase. This created the conditions allowing the intermediary merchant to join the exchange. As a result, a new large division of labor took place (earlier there was a separation of hunting from agriculture, then handicrafts from agriculture) - the separation of trade into a special large type of economic activity. Thus, commodity circulation is a relationship of exchange that is mediated by a monetary equivalent. It has the following form: T (commodity) - D (money) - T (commodity).

Types of division of labor

For general view system of division of labor, we will give a description of its various types.

Natural division of labor

Historically, the natural division of labor was the first to emerge. The natural division of labor is the process of separating types of labor activity by gender and age. This division of labor played a decisive role at the dawn of the formation of human society: between men and women, between adolescents, adults and the elderly.

This division of labor is called natural because its character stems from the very nature of man, from the delimitation of the functions that each of us has to perform due to our physical, intellectual and spiritual merits. We must not forget that initially each of us is most naturally adapted to the performance of certain types of activity. Or, as the philosopher Grigory Skovoroda said, the "affinity" of each person to a certain type of activity. So no matter what kind of division of labor we are considering, we must remember that visibly or invisibly the natural division of labor is always present in it. The natural moment manifests itself with the greatest force in the search by each person for ways, forms and means of self-realization, which often leads to not only a change of place of work, but also a change in the type of work activity. However, this, in turn, depends on the availability of freedom of choice of labor activity, which is predetermined not only by the personal factor, but also by the economic, social, cultural, spiritual and political conditions of the life of a person and society.

No socio-economic system, no matter how much progress it has made, can and should not abandon the natural division of labor, especially in relation to female labor. It cannot be associated with those types of work activities that can harm a woman's health and affect a new generation of people. Otherwise, society will suffer in the future not only colossal economic, but also moral and moral losses, deterioration of the genetic fund of the nation.

Technical division of labor

Another type of division of labor is its technical division. The technical division of labor is such a differentiation of the labor activity of people, which is predetermined by the very nature of the means of production used, primarily technology and technology. Consider elementary example illustrating the development of this type of division of labor. When a person had a simple needle and thread for sewing, this tool imposed a certain system of labor organization and required a large number of employed workers. When the sewing machine replaced the needle, a different organization of labor was required, as a result of which a significant mass of people engaged in this type of activity was freed. As a result, they were forced to look for other areas of application of their labor. Here, the very replacement of a hand tool (needle) with a mechanism (sewing machine) required changes in the existing system of division of labor.

Consequently, the emergence of new types of equipment, technologies, raw materials, materials and their use in the production process dictates a new division of labor. Just as the natural division of labor is initially already imposed by the very nature of man, so the technical division of labor is imposed by the very nature of the new technical means, means of production.

Social division of labor

Finally, it is necessary to dwell on the social division of labor, which is a natural and technical division of labor, taken in their interaction and in unity with economic factors (costs, prices, profits, demand, supply, taxes, etc.), under the influence of which occurs isolation, differentiation of various types of labor activity. The concept of the social division of labor includes the natural and technical division of labor due to the fact that any types of activity cannot be carried out outside a person (natural division of labor) and outside the material and technical means (technical division of labor) that are used by people in the production process. In production, people use either outdated or new technology, but in either case it will impose an appropriate system of technical division of labor.

As for the social division of labor, we can say that it is predetermined by the socio-economic conditions of production. For example, farmers with certain land plots, are engaged in both plant growing and animal husbandry. However, the accumulated experience and economic calculations suggest that if some of them specialize mainly in growing and preparing feed, while others will only be engaged in fattening animals, then production costs will be significantly reduced for both. Over time, it turns out that savings on production costs can be achieved through a separate occupation of meat and dairy farming. Thus, there is a separation of crop production from livestock, and then within livestock there is a division of labor into meat and dairy sectors.

Historically, the division of labor between animal husbandry and crop production initially proceeded under the direct influence of natural and climatic conditions. The difference in them just ensured lower costs in both cases. Both industries benefited from sharing their performance. It should be noted that in the conditions of market relations, the division of labor is to a decisive extent predetermined by economic feasibility, obtaining additional benefits, income, reducing costs, etc.

Sectoral and territorial division of labor

Within the framework of the social division of labor, the sectoral and territorial division of labor should be distinguished. The sectoral division of labor is predetermined by the conditions of production, the nature of the raw materials used, technology, equipment and the manufactured product. The territorial division of labor is characterized by the spatial distribution of various types of labor activity. Its development is predetermined both by differences in natural and climatic conditions and by economic factors. With the development of productive forces, transport, communications, economic factors play a predominant role. However, the development of the extractive industries and agriculture is dictated by natural factors... Varieties of the territorial division of labor are the district, regional and international division of labor. But neither sectoral nor territorial division of labor can exist outside each other.

General, particular and individual division of labor

From the point of view of coverage, degree of independence, as well as technical, technological and organizational and economic relationships between various types of production in the social division of labor, it is important to distinguish three forms of it: general, particular and individual. The general division of labor is characterized by the isolation of large kinds (spheres) of activity, which differ from each other in the formation of the product. It includes the allocation of shepherd tribes, i.e. separation of animal husbandry from agriculture, handicrafts from agriculture (later - industry and agriculture), separation of trade from industry. In the XX century. there was a separation and isolation of such large types of activity as services, scientific production, utilities, agro-industrial complex, credit and financial sphere.

The private division of labor is the process of separating individual industries within the framework of large types of production. It is inherent in the release of finished homogeneous or similar products, united by technical and technological unity. The private division of labor includes both separate branches and sub-branches and separate industries. For example, one can name within the industry such industries as mechanical engineering, metallurgy, mining, which in turn include a number of sub-sectors. So, in mechanical engineering, there are more than seventy sub-sectors and industries, including such as machine tool building, transport machine building, electrical, electronic industry. Such a selection is typical for all the other large types of production listed above.

A single division of labor characterizes the separation of production of individual constituent components of finished products, as well as the separation of individual technological operations. It includes item-by-item, item-by-item (production of parts, assemblies, components) and step-by-step (technological operations in physical, electrophysical, electrochemical processing) division of labor. A single division of labor, as a rule, takes place within the framework of individual enterprises.

Historically, the trend in the development of the social division of labor was determined by the transition from a general division to a particular division and from a particular division to a single division of labor. In this regard, it can be said that in its development the social division of labor went through three stages, at each of which the general division of labor, the particular, the individual, was decisive. However, apparently, it is not worthwhile to absolutize this scheme of development of the social division of labor. It will be shown below that each subsequent type of division of labor can become the initial basis for the deployment of historically previous types of its division.

Forms of manifestation of the division of labor

The forms of manifestation of the social division of labor include differentiation, specialization, universalization and diversification.

Differentiation

Differentiation consists in the process of segregation, "spin-off" of individual industries, due to the specifics of the means of production, technology and labor used. In other words, it is a process of dismemberment social production for more and more new types of activity. For example, earlier a commodity producer was engaged not only in the production of any goods, but also in their sale. Now he has focused all his attention on the production of goods, while another, completely independent economic entity is engaged in their implementation. Thus, a single economic activity was differentiated into two of its varieties, each of which functionally already existed within this unity.

Specialization

Specialization should be distinguished from differentiation. Specialization is based on differentiation, but it develops on the basis of focusing efforts on a narrow range of products. Specialization, as it were, consolidates and deepens the process of differentiation. In the example above, there has been a separation of production from sales (trade). Suppose a commodity producer produced different kinds furniture, but later decided to concentrate efforts on the production of only bedroom sets. The commodity producer did not abandon the production of furniture, but reorganizes production on the basis of replacing universal instruments of labor with specialized ones; the workforce is also selected taking into account the benefits of experience and knowledge in this specific field of activity. Of course, there are many conventions and transitional states, but it is nevertheless necessary to distinguish between these two concepts - differentiation and specialization.

Universalization

Universalization is the opposite of specialization. It is based on the production or sale of a wide range of goods and services. An example is the production of all types and types of furniture and even the release kitchen utensils, cutlery in one enterprise. An analogue of such production in trade can be a department store.

As for the concentration of production, it finds its technical manifestation in the ever-increasing concentration of means of production (machinery, equipment, people, raw materials) and labor within the framework of one enterprise. However, the direction of production development depends on the nature of their concentration: whether it will follow the path of universalization, or specialization. This is due to the degree of homogeneity of technology and applied technologies and raw materials, and, consequently, labor force.

Diversification

The diversification of production deserves special attention. Diversification should be understood as the expansion of the range of products. This is accomplished in two ways. The first is market diversification. It is characterized by the expansion of the range of manufactured goods that are already produced by other enterprises. Moreover, quite often the process of such diversification is accompanied by takeovers or mergers with enterprises that produce the same products. The main thing is that in this case, as a rule, there is no enrichment of the range of goods offered to the buyer.

The second way is production diversification, which is directly related to scientific and technological progress (STP), with the emergence of qualitatively new goods and technologies. This type of diversification, in contrast to market diversification, forms and satisfies previously non-existent needs or satisfies existing needs with a new product or service. As a rule, production diversification is closely related to the existing production in this enterprise and organically grows out of it.

Within the framework of industrial diversification, a distinction should be made between technological, detail and product diversification. The most large-scale development is product diversification. So, with the help of the same technological operations, parts, assemblies, components, it is possible to assemble finished products, products that are very diverse in their functional purpose. But this becomes possible only in the context of the deployment of the process of diversification of the release of composite components of finished products. It is industrial diversification, as a result of scientific and technological progress, that led to a change in the development trends of the general, private and individual division of labor.

Modern trends in the development of the division of labor

Constructive and technological commonality of products

So let's consider modern tendencies development of the social division of labor. First of all, we note that under the influence of scientific and technological progress, the constructive and technological commonality of the manufactured types of products, primarily assemblies, parts, components, is increasingly manifested. Thus, modern equipment and vehicles approximately 60-75% consist of similar or identical units and parts. This is a consequence of detailed and technological diversification.

The diversification of social production could not but affect the sectoral differentiation. In the conditions of unprecedented rates of product diversification, the principle of sectoral differentiation came into conflict with the tendencies of the social division of labor, the requirements of scientific and technological progress.

The growing constructive and technological commonality of an ever-increasing mass of various types of products gives rise to a complex and contradictory process of real isolation of the production of finished products and their constituent components. The fact is that many types of products of the same economic sector are structurally incompatible with each other in terms of assemblies, assemblies, parts and components, while products of other industries have a lot of elements in common with them in a constructive sense. For example, there is nothing in common between cars and trucks, except for the principles of their functioning and the names of units and parts, while the latter have a lot of identical component components with the products of the corresponding class of road construction, tractor, and agricultural machinery.

Growth of a single division into a quotient

The modern production of component products, apparently, is at that stage of its development, at which their production has gone beyond the framework of individual enterprises and has already reached isolation into separate branches of industry. The exit of a single division of labor outside the enterprise is inevitably and objectively associated with the development of another tendency - the growth of a single division of labor into a particular one. As long as the dedicated specialized production of component products remains closely related to one final product, one can speak, however, with certain, and sometimes significant, deviations, about a single division of labor. When, however, such production closes on itself a complex of technical, technological, organizational, economic ties for the production of a number of final products, then it acquires an independent, equal, and sometimes predetermining significance in relation to the choice of directions for the development of industries producing finished products.

The development of detailed and technological specialization of production within society creates the basis for the transition from simple cooperation (based on the division of labor by kinds, types, types of products) to complex, based on the amalgamation of detail and technologically highly specialized industries within industrial complexes, rather than individual enterprises, associations ... With the growth of separate industries for the production of units, parts, components and the identification of their constructive and technological commonality, the integration of identical industries takes place. This leads to the formation of independent industries and industries for the production of products for inter-industry purposes.

The economic content of these processes lies in the fact that the rigid attachment of the constituent component to a certain type of finished product indicates the prevailing role of the use value of a partial product and, on the contrary, the use of a partial product in a wide range of products - the leading role of value. It can be said that the more use value prevails in exchange, the wider the scale of the unit division of labor, the more often and more urgently the exchange value manifests itself, the more obvious is the development of the private division of labor. Therefore, with the growth of a single division of labor into a particular division, everything most of partial products purchases independent meaning as a commodity, which indicates a new stage in the development of commodity production, market relations.

The growing role of the private division of labor in the process further development industrial production is manifested, on the one hand, in the formation of intersectoral industries for the production of constructively and technologically related semi-products, and on the other, in the integration of related but separate industries and industries into industrial complexes.

Private division of labor as the basis of its general division

The considered tendency of the private division of labor, of course, does not exclude its development in the traditional channel - within the framework of the division of labor. At the same time, various types of labor activity, arising, transforming and isolating themselves, thereby create the basis for the formation of new large types of economic activity. These new formations include utilities, agro-industrial complex (AIC), infrastructure, scientific production. These new large spheres of social production were formed on a qualitatively new basis- by integrating individual industries, i.e. on the basis of a private division of labor. Thus, the agro-industrial complex was formed on the basis of industries serving Agriculture and agricultural production. Utilities integrated heat supply, power supply, gas facilities. Consequently, at present there is not a "growing" of the private division of labor out of the general, but, on the contrary, the formation of a general division of labor on the basis of the particular.

Having considered various aspects of the division of labor, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the wider and deeper the division of labor, the more developed productive forces a society possesses. A. Smith called the division of labor the leading force of economic development. It personifies the social productive force that arises from the form of labor organization and production management. Sometimes this productive force is of little value to society, but it gives a huge return, expressed in the growth of social productivity of labor.

Trends in the development of the division of labor as a universal form of existence of social production make it possible to determine the most important directions improving business relations. Consequently, economic relations represent the social shell of the existence and development of the division of labor. Any changes in the system of division of labor immediately affect the system of relations between economic entities: between some of them, economic ties cease, while between others, on the contrary, they arise. So, the social division of labor and its socialization reflect both material and technical (productive forces) and socio-economic ( relations of production) side of social production.

Socialization of labor and production

The expansion and deepening of the division of labor presuppose the mutual conditionality and predetermination of separate types of activity and make it impossible for them to exist without each other. In this regard, it can be concluded that with the process of deepening and expanding the division of labor, the process of its socialization is simultaneously unfolding. The socialization of labor is the process of drawing various types of labor activity, connected either by the exchange of labor activity directly, or by its results or products, into a single social labor process.

The considered types, types of division of labor and forms of their implementation, as well as trends in its development, mark the process of uniting disparate spheres and business entities into a single socialized production process. In the course of technical and socio-economic progress, various types of activity are combined, for most of modern goods are the result of the activities of a mass of people, some of whom are engaged in the production of individual parts, others - assemblies, third - units, fourth - component parts, fifth - by performing individual technical operations, sixth - by assembling and completing finished products. Merging fragmented production processes various industries and spheres National economy into a single social production process is called the socialization of production.

The socialization of production is a contradictory unity of the socialization of labor and the means of production, which is contained in the labor process itself, which presupposes both this or that form of interaction of the aggregate labor force, and this or that socialized form of functioning of the means of production. Therefore, they can complement each other or develop in opposite directions, entering into conflict.

At the same time, in the relations of socialization of the means of production, it is necessary to distinguish two aspects: the socialization of the means of production as a factor of production, i.e. as the material content of the process of socialization, and as an object of property relations. Therefore, in the socialization of the means of production, it is necessary to see both the material-material factor and socio-economic relations.

The division of labor, its socialization and the socialization of the means of production are closely interconnected and mutually complementary. The interconnection between them is mobile as much as the material and technical base of social production itself is changeable, i.e. productive forces, division and socialization of labor, and to what extent the forms of ownership are able to evolve in the direction of socialization of the means of production in accordance with the requirements of the development of productive forces.

As in the case of the technical division of labor, the very nature of the means of production used changes both the principle and the scale of their interaction, as well as interaction with labor force... Therefore, the socialization of the means of production as productive forces does not depend on the social form of management.

However, it is necessary to realize that the means of production can function outside economic relations, the prevailing property relations, and therefore the socialization of the means of production as productive forces is influenced by the social form of their functioning.

So, before the advent of machine production, individual property, individual capital, was dominant, which then, thanks to its own accumulation, passed to manufacturing production (manufacturing division of labor). However, the appearance of machines and their use in production opened the way to a qualitatively new division of labor and socialization of production based on the unification of separate capitals into social capital in the form of joint-stock companies. Despite the private nature of this corporate form of ownership, in its mode of functioning, it acts as a socially integrated force, as social capital. Thus, private capital, failing to ensure the appropriate division of labor and socialization of production, was forced to transform into a social form.

Understanding the process of socialization of the means of production in its material, technical and social aspects in conjunction with the socialization of labor makes it possible, in a first approximation, to consider the dynamics of social production. The first impulse in its development comes from the productive forces, but in reality its transformation (as well as economic use, the functioning of new productive forces) begins to take place only with the onset of changes in the system of economic relations.

Production loses its private character and becomes a social process due to the absolute dependence of producers on each other, when the means of production, even if they are the property of individuals, appear as public due to their relationship to production. Likewise, labor in individual enterprises turns out to be really socialized within the framework of a single production process. In this regard, I would like to draw attention to the following points of socialization of the means of production and labor as components of a single process of socialization of production.

The socialization of the means of production can take the following forms. First, by concentration of capital, i.e. increasing its size through the accumulation of investment in the production of part of the profit.

Secondly, based on the centralization of capital, i.e. its growth due to the absorption of weak competitors or the merger of relatively equivalent capital into a single whole. The processes of takeover and merger lead to the formation of oligopolistic and monopoly capital, which cannot function outside state supervision, and when certain conditions it can be expected to be nationalized.

However, the much larger scale of real socialization of the means of production is embodied by corporate capital with its system of participation in the financial control of branches, divisions, subsidiaries and grandchildren, associated enterprises, as well as tens of thousands of "independent" enterprises that turn out to be tightly tied technologically, technically, organizationally. economically to corporate capital by a system of agreements on scientific, technical and industrial cooperation. This entire set of seemingly legally independent enterprises functions as a single whole, as social capital in a single corporate-reproduction process.

At the same time, far from any socialization of the means of production, an increase in capital, personifies the socialization of labor and production. Formally, there may be an appearance of socialization of the means of production and labor, while they function in completely unrelated industries. This can also be observed within the framework of corporate capital, when it acts as a conglomerate, i.e. associations of diverse industries and services, which are disparate types of economic activity. There is no cooperation of labor between the individual links of production, and the exchange of the results of economic activity.

It is necessary to distinguish between direct (direct) and indirect (indirect) socialization of labor. At the same time, its cooperation is of great importance, which can be realized in the form of a direct exchange of labor activity within the framework of a separate business unit(enterprises) and in the form of exchange of labor results based on the implementation of production cooperation in the manufacture of certain types of products or by-products. In the latter case, the labor of workers of individual enterprises acts as a particle of the labor of collective workers participating in cooperation in the manufacture of certain products. As a result, the labor of all participants in production acquires the social character of an aggregate worker in a given area of ​​production. In the conditions of scientific and technological progress, a huge mass of enterprises is drawn into a single intersectoral production process based on truly cooperative labor, even if the latter is mediated by commodity-money relations.

Thus, the need for a constant exchange of the fruits of specialized labor predetermines the cooperative nature of relationships in the production of goods and services. Industrial cooperation is the unification of separate production operations or separate releases of units and parts required for the manufacture of final products into a single production process.

conclusions

1. The division of labor is a historical process of the isolation of various types of labor activity into independent or interconnected production, while the socialization of labor is aimed at drawing various types of labor activity directly or indirectly by exchange into a single social production process.

2. The division of labor is of three types: natural, technical and social. The natural division of labor is predetermined by the separation of labor activity by gender and age, the technical division by the nature of the equipment and technology used, the social division of labor by the nature of economic relations, expressed in prices and costs, supply and demand, etc.

3. Within the framework of the social division of labor, it is necessary to distinguish between the individual, private and general division of labor. The first characterizes the division of labor within the enterprise, the second - within individual industries, the third - within the boundaries large areas social production.

4. The forms of manifestation of the division of labor are differentiation, specialization, universalization and diversification. Differentiation expresses any process of isolation of certain types of production activities. Specialization expresses a type of differentiation that is characterized by the concentration of the means of production and labor on the production of a narrow range of products, while universalization, on the contrary, is accompanied by the concentration of the means of production and labor in order to produce a wide range of products. Diversification is understood as the expansion of the range of products by the enterprise.

5. The division of labor, acting in various forms and forms of its manifestation, is a defining prerequisite for the development of commodity production and market relations, since the concentration of labor efforts on the production of a narrow range of products or on certain types of it forces commodity producers to enter into a relationship of exchange in order to obtain what they lack good.

Consider the types of social division of labor:

General division of labor presupposes a process of isolation of various types of labor activity within the framework of the whole society.

Private division of labor is the process of separating various types of activities into sectors and sub-sectors.

Unit division of labor means the isolation of various types of work within the organization, the enterprise, within its structural divisions, as well as the distribution of work between individual employees. 19

There is a classic scheme according to which the division of labor in an organization is carried out in the following forms: technological, functional, professional, qualification.

    Technological division of labor - This is a subdivision of the production process into technically homogeneous work; dismemberment of the production process into stages, phases, operations.

Within the framework of the technological division, there are operational, subject and detailed division of labor.

Operational division of labor presupposes the distribution and specialization for the performance of individual operations or stages of the technological process for individual workers, the placement of workers to ensure their rational employment and optimal loading of equipment.

Subject division of labor assigns to a specific contractor a whole range of works that allow the complete manufacture of the product.

Detailed division of labor is a specialization in the production of individual parts of the future finished product.

The technological division of labor determines the arrangement of workers in accordance with the production technology and significantly affects the level of the content of labor. With narrow specialization, monotony appears in the work, with too wide specialization, the likelihood of poor-quality work performance increases. The responsible task of the organizer of labor is to find the optimal level of the technological division of labor. twenty

    Functional division of labor - the isolation of various types of labor activity and the performance of specific work by the corresponding groups of workers specializing in the performance of various content and economic value production or management functions.

The functional division of labor in real conditions acts as the division of workers into separate functions.

On this basis, the staff is divided into workers and employees. Employees are divided into managers (line and functional), specialists (employees performing certain economic, legal and other special functions) and technical executors (employees performing office functions). In turn, workers can make up functional groups of the main workers, service and support.

    the main ones, engaged in the direct release of products or in the performance of basic work;

    auxiliary, which provide with their labor the work of the main;

    service providers who are not directly involved in technological process, but create conditions for the work of main and auxiliary workers. 21

The classification of operations that meets the requirements of the division of labor between managers, specialists and technical performers constitutes three interrelated groups of functions:

1) organizational and administrative - their content is determined by the purpose of the operation and the role in the management process. Mainly performed by managers;

2) analytical and constructive functions are predominantly creative in nature, contain elements of novelty and are performed by specialists;

3) information technology functions are repetitive and associated with the use of technical means. Performed by technical performers. 22

    Professional division of labor consists in the fact that within each functional group there is a division between workers depending on their professions.

As a result of the professional division of labor, there is a process of separation of professions, and within them - the allocation of specialties. Profession - a type of activity of a person who possesses certain theoretical knowledge and practical skills obtained as a result of vocational training. Specialty - a kind of profession, the specialization of an employee within the profession. 23

Based on this form of division of labor, the required number of workers in different professions is established.

    The qualifying division of labor - division of labor of performers depending on the complexity, accuracy and responsibility of the work they perform, in accordance with professional knowledge and work experience. 24

An expression of the qualifying division of labor is the distribution of jobs and workers by category, office workers - by position. The division of labor is carried out according to the level of qualifications of workers, based on the required qualifications of work. This division forms the qualification structure of the organization's personnel.

In addition to those noted above, there is also a vertical and horizontal division of labor.

    Vertical division of labor in the organization results in a hierarchy of management levels. Supervisor top level manages the activities of leaders of the middle and lower levels, that is, formally has more power and more high status... 25 In a vertical division of labor, each manager has a sphere of activity for which he is responsible (sphere of control) or a certain number of employees who are subordinate to him. The so-called management pyramid is formed. In fig. 1 shows four such levels of workers.

Rice. 1 Vertical division of labor

The diagram shows that there is a higher, middle and lower level. Top managers (or senior managers) are CEOs and their deputies. The work of top-level executives is large and complex. They carry out administrative management, carry out general strategic planning.

Solutions of tactical problems prevail in the work of middle-level managers. This category of personnel includes the heads of structural divisions, departments of the organization.

Mid-level managers are the policy makers of the organization and at the same time exercise direct control over the execution of processes and operations. Among the most important work that they perform include the following:

    guidance and control over the progress of work;

    transmission of information from top to bottom and bottom to top;

    work planning;

    organization of work;

    motivating employees;

    maintaining internal and external contacts;

    making report. 26

In connection with the tendency to delegate authority, middle-level managers often have to solve the problems of developing a policy for the development of divisions; in addition, they bear a great responsibility for organizing the work of the executors to implement the plans for organizational changes coming down from the top. 27

The leaders of the lower level carry out direct communication with the performers (workers). Their responsibilities include solving primarily operational tasks. Most often, the work of lower-level managers is routine in nature: decisions related to the implementation of tasks and optimization of the use of resources allocated for this. Therefore, they are the ones who are directly responsible for the work of the performers. Also, the responsibilities of lower-level managers include not only the resolution of the entire set of issues and tasks that arise here, but also the analysis of operational situations and the timely transfer of the most important information to the next, middle level for making decisions that are important for other subsystems or the organization as a whole.

In the textbook of N.I. Kabushkin's "Fundamentals of Management Net" states that in the course of the vertical division of labor: "... relations of subordination are formed - the relationship between the higher and lower levels of management (ie, between those who make decisions and those who carry them out). Relations of subordination are manifested after the top manager makes a decision and transfers it to a lower level for execution. Someone must take over the duties of the captain in order to determine the responsibilities of subordinates, plan, organize, coordinate and control all structures and links of the organization. In such work, there are always two aspects: intellectual (preparation and decision-making) and strong-willed (implementation of them). " 29

    Horizontal division of labor - it is such a division of labor in which the entire volume of work is divided into small groups. This division presupposes the formation of functional subsystems. Figure 2 shows a classic example. These are such functional subsystems as marketing, production, finance, personnel, research and development. In a horizontal division of labor, specialists are distributed between different functional areas and they are entrusted with performing tasks that are important from the point of view of this functional area. thirty

Rice. 2 Subsystems of horizontal division of labor

All organizations implement a horizontal division of labor, breaking down all work into its component tasks. Larger organizations accomplish this separation by creating departments or divisions, which are further subdivided into smaller units. Management is necessary to coordinate all the tasks of the organization. 31

N.I. Kabushkin notes that “in the process of horizontal division of labor, coordination relations (coordination relations) are embedded in the work collective. They presuppose the coordination of actions of employees and heads of departments not subordinate to each other, belonging to the same level of management and carrying out joint activities to achieve a common goal. These relationships are not administrative; it is the common purpose of the organization that drives all employees into such a relationship. An example would be the relationship between the heads of departments of one governing body or the heads of structural divisions of one department. " 32

Based on the foregoing, it should be noted that the division of labor means the simultaneous coexistence of various types of labor activity and plays important role in the organization of work, because:

Is a necessary element of the production process and a condition for increasing labor productivity;

Allows you to organize sequential and simultaneous processing of the subject of labor at all stages of production;

Promotes the specialization of production processes (each production is limited to the manufacture of a certain type of homogeneous product) and the improvement of labor skills of the workers involved in it. 33

Division of labor

Division of labor- the historically established process of isolation, modification, consolidation of certain types of labor activity, which takes place in social forms of differentiation and the implementation of various types of labor activity.

Distinguish:

General division of labor by branches of social production;

Private division of labor within industries;

A single division of labor within organizations according to technological, qualification and functional characteristics.

It is the reason for the increase in the overall labor productivity of an organized group of specialists (synergistic effect) due to:

  • Developing skills and automatism of performing simple repetitive operations
  • Reducing the time spent switching between different operations

The concept of the division of labor is quite fully described by Adam Smith in the first three chapters of his five-volume treatise "A Study on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations."

Allocate social division of labor- the distribution of social functions among people in society - and the international division of labor.

Social division of labor- This is the division of labor primarily into productive and managerial labor. (F. Engels "Anti-Dühringe" op., V. 20, p. 293)

The division of labor led to modern world to the presence of a huge variety different professions and industries. Earlier (in ancient times) people were forced to almost completely provide themselves with everything they needed, it was extremely ineffective, which led to a primitive way of life and comfort. Almost all the achievements of evolution, scientific and technological progress can be explained by the continuous introduction of the division of labor. Through the exchange of the results of labor, that is, trade, the division of labor becomes possible in society.

From the point of view of business engineering, division of labor is a functional decomposition of business processes. It is often possible to single out such a part of the functions in a separate form, which then becomes possible to entrust to automation or a machine. Thus, the division of labor continues to occur today and has a close relationship, for example, with automation processes. In the field of intellectual work, it is also possible and very useful to divide it.

The division of labor is the first link in the entire system of labor organization. The division of labor is the separation of various types of labor activity and the division of the labor process into parts, each of which is performed by a certain group of workers, united by common functional, professional or qualifications.

For example, the main method of work in accounting is the division of labor of specialists. We distribute the work of employees in accounting areas under the guidance of leading specialists and auditors, which allows us to achieve maximum efficiency of their work. Thus, we dynamically combine developments in the field of accounting automation and experience in the administration of accounting services.

see also


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  • Political Economy
  • Masaryk, Tomas Garrigue

See what "Division of Labor" is in other dictionaries:

    DIVISION OF LABOR- The term "R. T." used in societies. sciences in a different sense. Societies. R. t. Denotes the differentiation and coexistence in society as a whole of various social functions, types of activities performed by definition. troupes of people ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

    Division of labor- (division of labor) The systematic (but not necessarily pre-planned or imposed) division of functions, tasks or activities. The Republic of Plato (Plato) mentions the functional division of labor: philosophers define laws, ... ... Political science. Dictionary.

    DIVISION OF LABOR Modern encyclopedia

    DIVISION OF LABOR- differentiation, specialization of labor activity, coexistence of its various types. Social division of labor, differentiation in society of various social functions performed by certain groups of people, and the allocation in connection with this ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    Division of labor- DIVISION OF LABOR, differentiation, specialization of labor activity, coexistence of its various types. Social division of labor, differentiation in society of various social functions performed by certain groups of people, and the allocation of ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

    DIVISION OF LABOR- (division of labor) The system by which specialization occurs in the production process. It has two advantages: firstly, workers specialize in the types of work in which they have comparative advantage(comparative ... ... Economic Dictionary

    Division of labor- (division of labor) Specialization of workers in the production process (or any other economic activity). Adam Smith (1723-1790) in his work The Wealth of Nations characterized the division of labor as one of the greatest contributions to increase ... ... Business glossary

    Division of labor- division of labor functions between members of the working collective (link, brigade) in accordance with the division of the production process into constituent processes and operations. [Adamchuk V. V., Romashov O. V., Sorokina M. E. Economics and sociology ... ... Encyclopedia of terms, definitions and explanations of building materials

    division of labor- Delineation of the activities of people in the process of joint labor. [GOST 19605 74] Topics organization of labor, production ... Technical translator's guide

    DIVISION OF LABOR- English. division of labor; German Arbeitsteilung. 1. A functionally integrated system of production roles and specializations within society. 2. According to E. Durkheim, a necessary condition for material and intellectual development society; a source… … Encyclopedia of Sociology

Books

  • Justice in the national economy. Division of Labor, G. Schmoller. The reader is invited to the book of the famous German economist and historian Gustav Schmoller, dedicated to research problems of the national economy. In the first part of the book, the author tries to ...

Economic development is based on the creation of nature itself - the division of functions between people, based on gender, age, physical, physiological and other characteristics. The mechanism of economic cooperation assumes that some group or individual is focused on the performance of a strictly defined type of work, while others are engaged in other activities.

There are several definitions of the division of labor. Here are just a few of them.

The division of labor is a historical process of isolation, consolidation, modification of certain types of activity, which takes place in social forms of differentiation and the implementation of various types of labor activity. The division of labor in society is constantly changing, and the very system of various types of labor activity is becoming more and more complex, since the process of labor itself is becoming more complex and deepening.

The division of labor is the principle of organizing production in the economy, according to which an individual is engaged in the production of a separate good. Thanks to the operation of this principle, with a limited amount of resources, people can receive much more benefits than if everyone would provide himself with everything he needs.

They also distinguish between the division of labor in a broad and a narrow sense.

In a broad sense, the division of labor is a system of different in their characteristics and simultaneously interacting with each other types of labor, production functions, occupations in general or their aggregates, as well as a system public relations between them.

In a narrow sense, the division of labor is the division of labor as human activity in her social essence, which, in contrast to specialization, is historically transitory social attitude... The specialization of labor is the division of types of labor according to the subject, which directly expresses the progress of the productive forces and contributes to it. The division of labor inevitably grows historically into a class division.

Due to the fact that the members of society began to specialize in the production of certain goods, professions appeared in society - separate types of activity associated with the production of any good.

But the division of labor does not mean at all that in our imaginary society one person will be engaged in one type of production. It may turn out that several people will have to deal with a separate type of production, or so that one person will be engaged in the production of several goods.

Why? It's all about the ratio of the size of the population's need for a particular good and labor productivity a separate profession... If one fisherman can catch just enough fish in a day to suffice for all members of society, then there will be just one fisherman in this farm. But if one hunter from the mentioned tribe cannot shoot quails for everyone and his labor will not be enough to satisfy the needs of all members of the economy for quails, then several people will go hunting at once.



Thus, the degree of "division" of labor depends on the size of the society. For a certain population size (that is, for a certain composition and size of needs), there is an optimal structure of occupation, in which the product produced by different manufacturers will be just enough for all members, and all products will be produced at the lowest possible cost. With an increase in the population, this optimal structure of occupations will change: the number of producers of those goods that have already been produced as an individual, will increase, and those types of production that were previously entrusted to one person will be entrusted to different people.

In the history of the economy, the process of division of labor has gone through several stages, differing in the degree of specialization of individual members of society in the production of a particular good.

The division of labor is usually divided into several types, depending on the characteristics by which it is carried out.

The natural division of labor is the process of separating types of labor activity by gender and age.

This division of labor is called natural because its character stems from the very nature of man, from the delimitation of functions that each of us has to perform due to our physical, intellectual and spiritual merits.

The technical division of labor is determined by the nature of the means of production used, primarily equipment and technology.

Consider an elementary example illustrating the development of this type of division of labor. When a person had a simple needle and thread for sewing, this tool imposed a certain system of labor organization and required a large number of employed workers. When the sewing machine replaced the needle, a different organization of labor of people engaged in this type of activity was required. As a result, they were forced to look for other areas of their work. Here, the very replacement of a hand tool by a mechanism required changes in the existing system of division of labor.

Consequently, the emergence of new types of equipment, technologies, raw materials, materials and their use in the production process dictates a new division of labor.

Social division of labor is a natural and technical division of labor, taken in their interconnection and in unity with economic factors, under the influence of which there is a separation, differentiation of various types of labor activity.

The concept of the social division of labor includes the natural and technical division of labor due to the fact that any types of activity cannot be carried out outside a person and outside the material and technical means that are used by people in the production process. It is determined by the socio-economic conditions of production.

In addition, the social division of labor includes two more subspecies: sectoral and territorial. The sectoral division of labor is predetermined by the conditions of production, the nature of the raw materials used, technology, equipment and the manufactured product. The territorial division of labor is the spatial distribution of various types of labor activity. Its development is predetermined both by differences in natural and climatic conditions and by economic factors.

By the geographical division of labor, we mean the spatial form of the social division of labor. Necessary condition the geographical division of labor is to different countries(or regions) worked for each other, so that the result of labor was transported from one place to another, so that there was, thus, a gap between the place of production and the place of consumption.

In a commodity society, the geographical division of labor necessarily presupposes the transfer of products from economy to economy, that is, exchange, trade, but exchange under these conditions is only a sign for "recognizing" the presence of a geographical division of labor, but not its "essence."

There are three forms of social division of labor:

1. The general division of labor is characterized by the isolation of large kinds (spheres) of activity, which differ from each other in the formation of the product.

2. The private division of labor is the process of separating individual industries within the framework of large types of production.

3. A single division of labor characterizes the separation of production of individual constituent components of finished products, as well as the separation of individual technological operations.

The forms of manifestation of the social division of labor include differentiation, specialization, universalization and diversification.

Differentiation consists in the process of separating individual industries, due to the specifics of the means of production, technology and labor used. In other words, this is the process of dividing social production into more and more new types of activity. For example, earlier a commodity producer was engaged not only in the production of any goods, but also in their sale. Now he has focused all his attention on the production of goods, while another, completely independent economic entity is engaged in their implementation. Thus, a single economic activity was differentiated into two of its varieties, each of which functionally already existed within this unity.

Specialization is based on differentiation, but it develops on the basis of focusing efforts on a narrow range of products. Specialization, as it were, consolidates and deepens the process of differentiation. In the example given earlier, there was a separation of production from sales. Suppose a commodity manufacturer produced various types of furniture, but later decided to concentrate efforts on the production of only bedroom sets. The commodity producer did not abandon the production of furniture, but reorganized production on the basis of replacing universal instruments of labor with specialized ones; the workforce is also selected to take advantage of the experience and knowledge in the specific field of activity. Of course, there are many conventions and transitional states, but it is nevertheless necessary to distinguish between these two concepts - differentiation and specialization.

Universalization is the opposite of specialization. It is based on the production and sale of a wide range of goods and services. An example is the production of all types and types of furniture and even the production of kitchen utensils. An analogue of such production in trade can be a department store.

Diversification is the expansion of the range of products. This is accomplished in two ways. The first is market diversification. It is characterized by the expansion of the range of manufactured goods that are already produced by other enterprises. The second way is production diversification, which is directly related to scientific and technological progress, with the emergence of qualitatively new goods and technologies.

Within the framework of production diversification, a distinction should be made between technological, detail and product diversification.

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