DIVISION OF LABOUR

In an industry there are many firms and each firm has many departments. In each department there are many workers. Each worker has his own specialized job. This is the principle of division of labour. For example, in the finance industry there are many banks. Each bank has a number of departments like the accounts department, the clearing department, the payments and receipt department, etc. Within each department there are many workers and each worker has his own job. In the receipts and payments department, some workers deal with cheques, while others deal with the computers and clerical work.

Division of labour at Individual Level

This is breaking down of a productive activity into tasks so that each person performs a particular task that he is most skilled in. For example a person may be solely responsible for only cutting the fish in a fish-canning factory.

Division of Labour at Regional Level

This happens when a particular region in a country is involved in producing a particular product. This may be due to the availability of natural resources in that particular region. For example, Feevah, an island in the Maldives is specialized in farming because the soil is very favourable for cultivation.

Division of Labour at National Level

Sometimes a country may specialize in producing one line of goods. This is also due to the availability of resources or favourable climatic conditions in that particular country. For example, Malaysia specializes in producing rubber; Maldives specializes in fish, Cuba in sugar, and Brazil in coffee.