Article on division of labor rewritten 23.12.2017 as for , which constitutes the economic part of science. The term division of labor is ambiguous, since it can mean both the division of the daily time of one person into separate periods of production of different products, and can be used in relation to the whole production, in which production was divided into separate operations, each of which is performed by a separate person.
The phenomenon of division of labor
1.2. The phenomenon of division of labor people are the same division of activities, which is inherent in most types of living beings. If we decide to find out - why did the division of labor appear in animals? then we will find the answer in general systems theory, in which one " law of necessary variety ” states that interaction is possible only if the elements have a variety, and the other “ law of hierarchical compensations » argues that interaction within the boundaries of the system is more efficient if the elements have specialization.
1.3. In animal systems, diversity can be achieved by the appearance different forms bodies in representatives of the same species (we look at the communities of ants or bees), but in evolution, diversity of behavior was more often used to increase the effectiveness of interaction. Therefore, when animals form a certain system (herd, flock, marriage pair), their interaction is determined by the difference in behavior. Therefore, we can safely answer the question about the emergence of a division of labor- this division of activity people inherited from their ancestors animals. The division of activity itself is only an expression of the diversity that each element of the system must have in order to effectively interact with other elements.
1.4. The increase in efficiency from participation in the division of labor system, which means an increase in the range and volume of consumption, is the answer to the question: why do people live together in communities? . Of course, people were not pioneers, and division of labor between people have a legacy of the animal past, since (more precisely, activity) is common in animals. There are extreme examples in Nature, for example, bees or ants, in which the division of labor has gone through a change in body shapes into several classes among representatives of the same species. People have only gender differences, and although statistically males are larger than females, a feature of people is that they do not take into account the conformity of the body shape to the nature of work. The point is that a special evolutionary path of people, when their body evolved into a manipulator with tools, and since an object of any shape could become such a tool, then - into a manipulator universal. Therefore, each person, due to the fact that his body is a universal manipulator, has the opportunity to integrate into any link in the technological chain in which people produce the vast majority of products.
1.5. But before the advent of machines, when choosing a profession, the affinity of a person with the nature of labor was decisive, since the natural division of labor, as a systemic law, does not disappear anywhere. Even today, watching division of labor, we see between workers when the specialization of a person is determined, taking into account his physical data. However, the sequence and number of operations in determines the scope of MANAGEMENT. Yes, and the entire technological division of labor does not occur by itself, but as a result of management acts by which the hierarch of the MANAGEMENT SYSTEM assigns a person to a separate operation, which have a character - more probabilistic than taking into account natural advantages. Moreover, automation is increasingly negating the benefits of matching the physical data of a person to the nature of the production operation. It's just that people make the trend the norm of production. 1.6. Actually, one must adhere to historicity, which leads us to the first one, which was, the structure of which differed little from STAI hominid. It was in the PACK-TRIBE that the hominids began to turn into a system of common labor, including all members of the unit of humanity. The tribe did not arise by itself - it was the result of the managerial efforts of the LEADER, who knows what and how much needs to be produced today in a certain balance so that the tribe does not starve to death. It can be said that people were distinguished from hominids by the appearance in the TRIBE of a special managerial specialization of the LEADER, standing ABOVE the production of life's goods. Therefore, although RT is considered an economic category, but in reality this one uses more, since it happens at the behest of a certain hierarch. |
2.2. The frequently used division of labor is ambiguous. Sometimes it means a system of division of labor as a category, sometimes an act when a previously unified one is divided into different types of labor, and sometimes a historical process of deepening the division of labor.
2.3. Therefore, in itself, this term (without clarifications) tries to use it to a minimum, only where its specific one is clear from the context.
To readers who division of labor theme interested in a professional level - I recommend the video:
In addition, I suggest dictionary, so the left column is articles from and the right column is orthodox terminology.
THE PROBLEM OF THE DIVISION OF LABOR
3.1. According to the format of the article as a criticism of the orthodox ideas about the division of labor I posted a typical article at the end about types of division of labor, but first I will make a few remarks about the difference in ideas about the concept of division of labor in and neoconomics.
3.2. Firstly, in neoconomics, the real economy can be represented as a combination of many, to which and only the concept can be applied. division of labor, while orthodox economic theory considers everything as homogeneous systems with equal degree of division of labor. After Adam Smith, no one in economic theory looked at the economy as a system of division of labor.
3.3. Secondly, due to the historicity in neoconomics, the economy is considered the first economy, which serves as an ideal example of a reproduction circuit. Therefore, in neoconomics there is an understanding that the division of labor system is limited by the number of inhabitants, because without people it is impossible to deepen the division of labor - they simply may not be enough for new operations. In orthodoxy, on the other hand, they proceed from the "Robinson model", when new economic entities- i.e. "Robinsons" who, for unknown reasons (rationality?) are included in the division of labor, from which the conclusion is drawn - the possibility of an infinite growth of the division of labor system. In Rosa Luxemburg's dispute with Lenin about the limited growth of the market and, accordingly, the division of labor, Western economic theory took the side of Lenin, who believed that capitalism itself creates markets without restrictions. This provision reinforced the thesis about the eternity of capitalism, but as a result, in economics (similarly in Marxism) they cannot understand the reason modern crisis as the impossibility of further growth of the world division of labor.
Division of labor Wikipedia
3.5. The fact that modern economics considers concept of division of labor too trivial and self-explanatory - you can see by the scarcity of the article division of labor on wikipedia from where I got the following definition of the division of labor:
3.6. Division of labor (also Labor union (???)) - a historically established process of people performing their specialized activities in general for all cases, accompanied by isolation, modification, consolidation of certain types labor activity, which takes place in social forms of differentiation and implementation of various types of labor activity.
3.7. It's easy to understand what it is definition of the division of labor is complex and slurred, so I instead of an article Division of labor Wikipedia posted the text of a good essay. However, for all the development of the theme of the division of labor, it remained a kind of third-party insert, although he also drew attention to the great the importance of the division of labor in economics.
Adam Smith on the division of labor
4.1. It so happened historically that all economic theories did not notice the "Elephant", which is. The founder of political economy set such a descriptive trend in relation to when he wrote in his book:
4.2. “The greatest progress in the development of the productive power of labor, and a considerable share of the art, skill and ingenuity with which it is directed and applied, appeared, apparently , a consequence of the division of labor"
4.3. This Smith clause: - « apparently ", rather testified to the honesty of the great economist, who himself, apparently, did not consider himself an expert, therefore, to reinforce his assertion -" The greatest progress ... was the result of the division of labor ”- devoted THREE chapters in the book, as evidenced by their titles:
- Chapter I "On the division of labor"
- Chapter II "On the Cause of the Division of Labor"
- Chapter III "The division of labor is limited by the size of the market"
5.3. The fact is that the national economy was the subject of study of classical political economy, therefore, when comparing, the first economists were struck by difference in natural resources at the countries. When transferring the fact that countries have different natural advantages to Robinson's model of economics- thought that the emergence of a division of labor among humans can be explained by limited resources. Like, one subject has a certain set of natural resources, and the other has a different set, then in order to produce something they need to be exchanged. This idea was developed by David Ricardo, thanks to whom division of labor problems shifted to the plane of natural advantages. Moreover, the raw factor to explain causes of the social division of labor seemed clearer even to Karl Marx, so Marxist political economy considered division of labor issue fully resolved in David Ricardo's Theory of Comparative Advantage.
5.4. Understanding the division of labor could not fall into the focus of classical political economy, since the object of research was initially social connections, which are formed under the influence of socio-economic phenomena, which especially prevailed in the Marxist political economy, which became the pinnacle of the classics. Moreover, at present, the whole ideology international organizations, among which , is based on the ideas of Ricardo and Adam Smith on natural benefits . recommend that developing countries find some advantages in themselves, on the basis of which specialization should be carried out, which should certainly bring countries to a high position in the world division of labor.
5.5. Actually, the vague political economy definition of division of labor adopted neoclassical economic theory, which at the end of the 19th century was created as anti Marxism, as the theory of class struggle gained great popularity. However, about what division of labor connected not with the benefit of specialization, but with natural factors, could not be accepted by neoclassics, for the reason that the subject of its study was not the economy, but the individual.
5.6. Therefore, aiming to refute the Marxist theory of the class struggle, bourgeois political economy also adopted division of labor as a given, which does not require explanation. By that time, it was familiar to everyone without any explanation. Indeed, everyone understood it as a continuation of the sex-age division of labor, and even more - the division of activities characteristic of many species of animals.
The concept of division of labor
Ideas about the division of labor
6.2. The process of deepening the division of labor was of little interest to Marxist political economy and (micro-macro), which do not go beyond the time frame of capitalist relations and were noticeably politicized, as they opposed in their basic postulates about the finiteness of capitalism. All political economy came out of the concept of surplus value that the capitalist appropriates, which gave rise to the theory of the class struggle, and, which appeared as the antipode of Marxism, today has degenerated into the counter theory - what and how to put on the shelves in order to sell faster.
6.2. Ideas about the division of labor in modern economic theory come from a popular model called the "Robinson model". Western economists imagine the economy as an island where certain subjects (Robinsons) land and begin to interact with each other, which implies a certain variety of products they produce. By the way, in neoconomics, the "Robinson model" is also used as an example of the closedness of the reproductive circuit, but due to historicity, it is understood that in reality - the first economy (circuit) was the economy of the TRIBE, with about a hundred members. But in bourgeois economic theory there is no link to the real units of humanity, and therefore the systems of separation in economics can be of any degree of fantasy. As a result of this approach - there are ideas that the division of labor increases the market, and vice versa - the division of labor system has no restrictions on the number of people on the planet (for example, Lenin's arguments against Rosa Luxemburg - "capitalism itself creates markets").
6.4. Depth of the division of labor, taken as a factor, immediately made it possible to study and forecast the results of interaction between the economies of different countries, which act as a set of contours. Therefore, it has become a new level of economic knowledge.
6.5. Actually division of labor theme disclosed in thousands of articles, for example, in mine, however, how economics studies speculative theoretical or otherwise abstract concepts. Therefore, this article can be read only for general educational purposes, and entrance to neoconomics begins with an understanding of new terms - speculative as chain of division of labor in the production of a commodity, which is applied to a new speculative object in the economy named .
As a preparation, I recommend readers the book Fundamentals of Economics, author Storcheva M.A. (edited by P.A. Vatnik. St. Petersburg: School of Economics, 1999. 432p.)
According to the format of the article, further I had to lay out a typical definition of the division of labor, which I usually take from Wikipedia (Wikipedia division of labor), but Wikipedia division of labor article is much inferior to the abstract that I found on the page Forms, the essence and meaning of the division of labor on the site of abstracts bibliofond.ru.
Forms, essence and meaning of the division of labor
- Introduction
- 1 Forms of labor organization
- 1.1 Division of labor: concept and General characteristics
- 1.2 Forms of division of labor
- 2 The Importance of the Division of Labor
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
Introduction
In the production of the necessary means of subsistence, people act on nature. Production, therefore, is the relation of people to nature. However, influencing nature, they have a corresponding effect on each other, entering into a certain relationship. Those relations that are conditioned by the requirements of economic practice are usually called industrial, that is, economic relations. at the center of any production process costs work. Samo production can be characterized as a system of labor processes necessary for the production of a given kind of material goods or services provided by individuals or organizations.
Even the most primitive work of primitive man always proceeded with support, interaction with other people. Therefore, the social content of labor activity was already hidden in this. All this suggests that the process of labor and labor itself is an economic category, i.e. it always contains an element of economic, industrial relations. Man is social being due to the fact that labor makes him organically soldered in relation to other people, not only of the present, but also of the past (when the experience of predecessors is adopted) and the future, when the results of his labor will serve in the future. considers the production and reproduction of material and other goods necessary for the life of the human race. The disclosure of these questions requires the identification of general or specific laws governing the production relations of people. The relations of production include the relations of people in the process of production, exchange, distribution, consumption and accumulation of material goods. The totality of these relations is a single system of economic relations, within which it is possible normal process life of any economic system. All the material needs of society can be divided into two classes: in the process of production, interaction occurs not only with the means of production, but also with their colleagues, colleagues in joint work, and joint work has its economic significance, since it allows the exchange of not only activities, but also exchange of experience, skills, will to achieve the tasks set for the workers.
The labor of an individual worker, no matter how isolated it may seem, is a particle of total social labor. This is facilitated not only by the production technology itself, but also by constant, not only human, but also industrial training of participants in production, since the joint production and productive activities of people are carried out in the form cooperation and division of labor. This applies not only to the labor process itself, but also to the organization of interaction itself. various forms property and types of economic systems. Samo division of labor It consists in the specialization of an employee for the implementation of any work, operations, production of a particular product.
Forms of labor organization
1.1. Division of labor:concept and general characteristics
The basis of economic development is the creation of nature itself - division of labor between people based on age, sex, physical, physiological and other characteristics. The mechanism of economic cooperation assumes that some group or individual focuses on the performance of a strictly defined type of work, while others are engaged in other types of activities.
Definition of division of labor
There are several definitions of the division of labor. Here are just a few of them.
Division of labor- this is a historical process of isolation, consolidation, modification of certain types of activity, which takes place in social forms of differentiation and implementation various kinds labor activity. 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 labor process itself is becoming more complex and deepening.
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 particular good. Thanks to the operation of this principle, with a limited amount of resources, people can get much more benefits than if everyone would provide himself with everything he needs.
Division of labor Wikipedia describes in the following words:
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 implementation of various types of labor activity.
They also distinguish between the division of labor in a broad and narrow sense (according to K. Marx).
In a broad sense, the division of labor- these are different in their characteristics and at the same time interacting with each other types of labor, production functions, occupations in general or their combinations, as well as a system of social relations between them. The empirical diversity of occupations is considered by economic statistics, labor economics, sectoral economic sciences, demography, etc. The territorial, including international, division of labor is described by economic geography. To determine the correlation of various production functions in terms of their real result, K. Marx preferred to use the term " distribution of labor».
Exist division of labor within society and division of labor within the enterprise. These two main types are interrelated and interdependent. Division of social production on its large genera (such as agriculture, industry, etc.) K. Marx called general division of labor, the division of these types of production into types and subspecies (for example, industry into separate branches) - by private division and, finally, within the enterprise - by individual division.
General, private and single division of labor- are inseparable from the professional, specialization of workers. The term division of labor is also used to denote the specialization of production within one country and between countries - international and territorial division of labor.
In a narrow sense, the division of labor- This social division of labor as a human activity in its social essence, which, in contrast to specialization, is a historically transient social relation. Labor specialization is division of labor on the subject, which directly expresses the progress of the productive forces and contributes to it. The diversity of such species corresponds to the degree of development of nature by man and grows along with his development. However, in class formations, specialization is not carried out as a specialization of integral activities, since it is itself influenced by social division of labor. The latter divides human activity into such partial functions and operations, each of which in itself no longer has the nature of activity and does not act as a way for a person to reproduce it. social relations, his culture, his spiritual wealth and himself as a person. These partial functions lack their own meaning and logic; their necessity appears only as requirements imposed on them from the outside division of labor system. Such is the division of material and spiritual (mental and physical), performing and managing labor, practical and ideological functions, etc. The expression social division of labor is the singling out as separate spheres of material production, science, art, etc., as well as the division of them themselves.
Division of labor historically inevitably grows to a class division.
Due to the fact that the members of society began to specialize in the production of certain goods, professions- individual activities associated with the production of a good. The variety of goods in which specialization took place created horizontal division of labor with the singling out of individual branches of production of related goods, in which further fragmentation continued into smaller, highly specialized production operations. Horizontal division of labor occurs with the advent of a new type of product, but inside it naturally appears associated with the division of movement from the extraction of raw materials to final production and consumption into dedicated production operations.
Thus, important element organization of work is division of labor, i.e. separation of types of labor activity between employees, teams and other divisions in the enterprise. This is the starting point for the organization of labor, which, based on the goals of production, consists in assigning to each employee and each unit their duties, functions, types of work, and technological operations. The solution of this issue should provide, along with the requirement for the most rational use of working time and the qualifications of the worker, such specialization of him that the content of work is preserved, its monotony is not allowed, and the harmonization of physical and mental stress is ensured.
1.2 Forms of division of labor
There are the following forms of division of labor at enterprises:
- functional division of labor- depending on the nature of the functions performed by employees in production and their participation in the production process. On this basis, workers are divided into workers (main and auxiliary) and employees. Employees are divided into managers (linear and functional), specialists (designers, technologists, suppliers) and technical performers. In turn, workers can form functional groups of the main workers, service workers and auxiliary workers. Among the latter, groups of repair and transport workers, quality controllers, energy service workers, etc. stand out. Functional division of labor It manifests itself in two directions: between the categories of workers that are part of the personnel of the enterprise, and between the main and auxiliary workers. The first means the allocation in the composition of the personnel of enterprises of such categories of workers as workers, managers, specialists and employees. A characteristic trend in the development of this division of labor is the increase in the proportion of specialists in the production staff. Another direction of the functional division of labor is the division of workers into main and auxiliary. The first of them are directly involved in changing the shape and condition of the processed objects of labor, for example, workers in foundries, mechanical and assembly shops of machine-building enterprises, engaged in the performance of technological operations for the manufacture of basic products. The latter do not directly participate in the implementation of the technological process, but create the necessary conditions for the uninterrupted and efficient work of the main workers. Classification of operations corresponding requirements of the division of labor between managers, specialists and employees (three interrelated groups): 1) organizational and administrative functions - their content is determined by the purpose of the operation and the role in the management process. Performed mainly by managers; 2) analytical and constructive functions are predominantly creative, contain elements of novelty and are performed by specialists; 3) information technology functions are repetitive and associated with the use technical means. Performed by employees;
- technological division of labor- this is the division and isolation of the production process according to the subject or operational principle. Due to the development of scientific and technological progress and the deepening division of industries into sub-sectors and micro-sectors specializing in the manufacture of technologically homogeneous products, the production of certain items, goods or services; types of technological division of labor are: subject and operational division of labor; in this case, the forms of manifestation of the separation of people are: profession (focused on the final product) and specialty (limited to an intermediate product or service). Substantive division of labor(detailed), i.e. specialization in the production of individual products, provides for the assignment to the worker of a complex of various operations aimed at manufacturing a certain type of product. Operational division of labor- is based on assigning a limited set of technological operations to specialized jobs and is the basis for the formation of production lines. Technological division of labor classified by phases, types of work, products, assemblies, parts, technological operations. It determines the placement of workers in accordance with the technology of production and to a large extent affects the level of content of labor. At narrow specialization monotony appears in the work, with too broad specialization, the likelihood of poor-quality performance of work increases. The responsible task of the labor organizer is to find the optimal level of technological division of labor;
- - according to specialties and professions. Reflects the production and technological side and the functional content of labor. As a result professional division of labor there is a process of separation of professions, and within them - the allocation of specialties. It is also interconnected with the social structure of society, since closely related to its social division. Based on this form of division of labor, the required number of workers of various professions is established. Profession- the type of activity of a person who owns certain theoretical knowledge and practical skills obtained as a result of professional training. Specialty - a kind of profession, specialization of an employee within the profession; (As determined Profession Wikipedia look at the link profession)
- qualification division of labor- within each professional group, associated with the unequal complexity of the work performed and, consequently, with different requirements for the skill level of the employee, i.e. division of labor of performers depending on the complexity, accuracy and responsibility of the work performed in accordance with professional knowledge and work experience. Expression qualification division of labor serves the distribution of work and workers by category, employees - by position. It is regulated by tariff-qualification reference books. The qualification structure of the organization's personnel is formed from the qualification division of labor. Division of labor here it is carried out according to the level of qualification of workers, based on the required qualification of work.
There are also three forms social division of labor:
- characterized by the isolation of large genera (spheres) of activity, which differ from each other in the form of the product (agriculture, industry, etc.);
- private division of labor- this is the process of separating individual industries within the framework of large types of production, divided into types and subspecies (construction, metallurgy, machine tool building, animal husbandry);
- single division of labor characterizes the isolation of the production of individual components of finished products, as well as the allocation of individual technological operations, i.e. the separation of various types of work within the organization, enterprise, within its certain structural divisions (workshop, section, department, management, team), as well as the distribution of work between individual workers.
2 . The essence and significance of the division of labor
For solving issues of division of labor use the concepts the boundaries of the division of labor" and " level of division of labor". The boundaries of the division of labor- lower and upper limits, below and above which the division of labor is unacceptable. Level of division of labor- the accepted calculated or actually achieved value characterizing the state of the division of labor.
With the division and cooperation of labor, the question is decided: who will do what, how and with whom he will interact. For the organization of highly productive labor, it is also necessary to solve the following question: how, in what way work should be done.
As an example, consider an industry in which the division of labor has been very often noted, namely pin production. A worker who is not trained in this production (the division of labor made the latter a special profession) and who does not know how to handle the machines used in it (the impetus for the invention of the latter was probably also given by this division of labor) can hardly, perhaps, with all his diligence make one pin a day and, in any case, will not make twenty pins. But with the organization that this production now has, it as a whole not only represents a special profession, but is also subdivided into a number of specialties, each of which, in turn, is a separate special occupation. One worker pulls the wire, another straightens it, a third cuts it, a fourth sharpens the end, a fifth grinds one end to fit the head; the manufacture of the head itself requires two or three independent operations; its nozzle is a special operation, the polishing of a pin is another; an independent operation is even wrapping finished pins in bags. Thus the complex labor of making pins is divided into about eighteen independent operations, which in some manufactories are all performed by different workers, while in others the same worker often performs two or three operations.
In every other craft and manufacture consequences of the division of labor similar to those described in this production, although in many of them labor cannot be so divided and reduced to such simple operations. However division of labor in any trade, in whatever size it may be introduced, causes a corresponding increase in the productivity of labour. Apparently, the separation from each other of various professions and occupations was caused by this advantage. At the same time, this distinction usually goes further in countries that have reached a higher stage of industrial development: what in the wild state of society is the work of one person, in a more developed society is done by several. In every developed society the farmer is usually only concerned with farming, the owner of the manufacture is busy only with his manufacture. The labor necessary for the production of some finished object is also almost always distributed among a large number of people. How many different trades are employed in every branch of linen or cloth production, from those who grow flax and sheep, supplying wool, and ending with those who are engaged in bleaching and polishing linen, or dyeing and finishing cloth.
It is true that agriculture, by its very nature (as an exception, having seasonality from climatic conditions) does not allow such a diverse division of labor, nor such a complete separation from each other of various works, as is possible in manufacture.
It is impossible to completely separate the occupation of the pastoralist from the occupation of the cultivator, as is usually the case with the professions of carpentry and blacksmithing.
The spinner and the weaver are almost always two different faces while the laborer who plows, harrows, sows and reaps is often one person. In view of the fact that these various kinds of labor must be performed at different times of the year, it is impossible that an individual worker should be constantly employed in each of them throughout the year. The impossibility of so completely separating out all the various kinds of labor practiced in agriculture is perhaps the reason why the increase in the productivity of labor in this field does not always correspond to its increase in industry.
Such a significant increase in the amount of work that can be done as a result division of labor the same number of workers depends on three different conditions: first, from increased agility each individual worker; Secondly, from saving time, which is usually lost in the transition from one type of labor to another; third, from invention a large number machines, facilitating and reducing labor and allowing one person to do the work of several.
This is achieved by establishing rational methods and methods of labor. Of course, the way work is done is largely determined by technology, but each technological operation can be performed in different ways: with a greater or lesser number of movements, more or less skillfully, with the expenditure of a different amount of time and physiological energy. Establishing a method the most economical performing each action, reception, operation, each work is the responsible task of the labor organizer. It involves the analysis and development of all parts of the labor process, including all calculations and construction, and coordination of movements, the choice of a comfortable working posture, the way to own a tool and control machines and mechanisms, rest time, downtime, etc.
It should be noted that division of labor, meaning the simultaneous coexistence of various types of labor activity, plays an important role in the development of the organization of production and labor:
- firstly, the division of labor is a necessary prerequisite for the production process and a condition for increasing labor productivity;
- Secondly, division of labor
- third, division of labor
But division of labor as a process of specialization of workers cannot be regarded only as a narrowing of the scope of human activity by performing more and more limited functions and production operations.
Division of labor is multilateral, complex process, which, changing its forms, reflects the operation of the objective law of the change of labor: the socio-economic law of social production, expressing the objective, essential, continuously strengthening and expanding links between revolutionary changes in the technical basis of production, on the one hand, and the functions of workers and the social combinations of the process labor, on the other. The accelerating mobility of labor functions is an immutable requirement of this law. In the context of requirements, we are talking about the universality of the labor force, its flexibility, versatility, adaptability as a condition for its ability to change labor. The main reasons causing the need for a change in labor are revolutions in the technical basis of production. First, by changing the technique, technology and organization of production, they lead to the disappearance of certain professions and the emergence of new ones associated with the use of higher-level technology. Secondly, by creating more progressive branches of production, revolutions in the technical basis drastically change the proportions in the balance of the labor force, which leads to a change in its professional and qualification structure. If in the early stages of the development of large-scale industry during the labor activity of one generation, changes in the professional structure were hardly perceptible in order to discern a trend towards a change in labor, then on present stage one generation has a need to change profession two or three or more times. The nature of large-scale industry is constantly revolutionizing division of labor within society and continuously throws masses of capital and masses of workers from one branch to another. Therefore, the nature of large-scale industry determines the change of labor, the movement of functions, the all-round mobility of the worker.
Revolutionization of the division of labor entails radical changes in its content, and the latter creates the prerequisites for the emergence of new sectors of the economy and new professions. The change of labor can be carried out in time, in space, and also in time and space simultaneously. When considering the change of labor over time, it is necessary to distinguish between complete switching from one type of work to another, carried out over large intervals of time, and the alternation of various types of activity. The change of labor in space is associated with the control of complexes of automatic systems, including various types of work. In domestic production, it manifests itself in three main forms: the change of labor within the boundaries of a given profession; transition from one type of work to another; a combination of the main work with various types of activities on a voluntary basis. The variety of forms of manifestation of the law directly depends on the degree of development of scientific and technological progress.
It is important to note that when division of labor in enterprises should take into account not only the growth of labor productivity, but also the conditions for the comprehensive development of workers, the elimination negative influence production environment on the human body and increasing the attractiveness of work. Degree of division of labor largely depends on the specific conditions of the enterprise: belonging to the industry, type and scale of production, level of mechanization, automation, output volume and specifics of products, etc.
The Importance of the Division of Labor is an:
- a necessary prerequisite for the production process and a condition for increasing labor productivity;
- allows you to organize sequential and simultaneous processing of the object of labor in all phases of production;
- contributes to the specialization of production processes and the improvement of the labor skills of the employees participating in them.
The unit of division of labor is the production operation., which is understood as part of the labor process performed by one or a group of workers at one workplace, on one subject of labor. A change in at least one of these signs means the completion of one operation and the beginning of another. Manufacturing operation, in turn, is made up of methods labor actions and movements.
labor movement represents a single movement of the arms, legs, body of the worker in the process of labor (for example, reach out to the workpiece).
labor action- this is a set of labor movements that are performed continuously and have a particular purpose (for example, the labor action “take a workpiece” consists of the movements “reach out to the workpiece”, “grab it with your fingers” performed sequentially and continuously).
Labor reception is a set of labor actions united by one purpose and representing a completed elementary work.
The boundaries of the division of labor(ignoring them may adversely affect the organization and production results) obviously coincide with the beginning and end labor reception in a manufacturing operation:
- division of labor should not lead to a decrease in the efficiency of the use of working time and equipment;
- it should not be accompanied by depersonalization and irresponsibility in the organization of production;
- division of labor should not be excessively fractional, so as not to complicate the design and organization of production processes and labor rationing, and also not to reduce the qualifications of workers, not to deprive labor of content, not to make it monotonous and tedious.
The monotony of labor is a very serious negative factor that manifests itself in the process of deepening the division of labor in production.
Means against monotony can be a periodic change of jobs, the elimination of the monotony of labor movements, the introduction of variable work rhythms, regulated breaks for outdoor activities, etc.
Tasks of the division of labor:
- growth in labor productivity;
- comprehensive development of employees;
- elimination of the negative impact of the production environment on the human body;
- increasing the attractiveness of work.
Degree of division of labor largely depends on the specific conditions of the enterprise: belonging to the industry of production, type and scale of production, level of mechanization, automation, output volume and specifics of products, etc. The degree of division of labor depends on the number of production operations necessary for the production of goods using a specific technology.
Conclusion
Exactly division of labor caused the separation from each other of various professions and occupations, which primarily contributed to an increase in productivity, and the higher the stage of the country's industrial development, the further such a separation goes. What in the savage state of society is the work of one person, in a more developed state it is done by several. , necessary for the production of some finished item always distributed among a large number of people.
Division of labor, acting in various types and forms of its manifestation, is a determining 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 its individual types forces commodity producers to enter into exchange relations in order to obtain the benefits they lack.
Bibliography
- Bychin B.V., Malinin S.V., Shubenkova E.V., Organization and regulation of labor. Textbook for universities - Moscow, 2003
- Razorvin I.V., Mitin A.N., ECONOMICS OF LABOR, Educational and methodological complex, - Yekaterinburg, 2003
- Karl Kautsky. "The economic doctrine of Karl Marx" - Moscow, 2007
- A. Smith "Research on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations", Moscow, 1999
- Yandex dictionary http://slovari.yandex.ru/
- 6. World Economic Forum http://business.polbu.ru/fomichev_inttrading/ch10_xiv.html
In fact, in Marxism division of labor problem(see Division of Labor Great Soviet Encyclopedia) is revealed more declaratively as the cause of technological progress, while the main emphasis is on productivity. Samo concept of division of labor is not difficult and studied in detail, but I draw the reader's attention to the fact, what depth of division of labor or as it is called in the article - degree of division of labor- has never been used by anyone to characterize the economy.
So when I took level of division of labor AS A FACTOR, then he was perplexed - how did it happen that hundreds of years before him no one guessed to compare economies according to such a characteristic as the degree of division of labor. Now, in real economies, it has become possible to single out separate ones - locally closed in the territories or around the production of one product, to which Grigoriev gave the name - neoconomics
The basis of economic development is the creation of nature itself - the division of functions between people, based on age, sex, physical, physiological and other characteristics. But man was able to take 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 of people assumes that some group or individual focuses on the performance of a strictly defined type of work, while others are engaged in other types of activities.
The concept of "division of labor"
If you pay attention to the isolation of the types of activities that are performed by each member of society, then you can see that all people are isolated from each other in one way or another by the nature of their occupations, activities, functions performed. 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 of differentiation and implementation of various types of 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 “borderless sea” for the free choice of the method and direction of our “swimming”. But are we really so free if our activities are narrowly focused? Why is it that, by performing only a rather narrow and specific kind activity, do we have all the necessary benefits that are not connected in any way or are connected very conditionally with our work activity? After some reflection, one can come to the conclusion that people have everything (or almost everything) they need only because they exchange the results of their 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 labor process itself is becoming more complex and deepening.
Concentrating efforts on the manufacture of any one thing and exchanging the products of his labor for the products of the labor of other people, a person soon discovered: this saves him time and effort, since the productivity of labor of all participants in the exchange of goods increases. And therefore, the mechanism of expanding and deepening the division of labor, launched in ancient times, is still working properly to this day, helping people to use the available resources in the most rational way and receive 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 his 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 enter into exchange only because they can satisfy this or that need. This is the value of the acquired good by one or another economic entity.
Barter and commodity circulation
Initially, people entered into a simple commodity exchange, or such exchange relations in which the sale and purchase of goods coincided in time and took place without the participation of money. The form of such commodity exchange is as follows: T (commodity) - T (commodity). 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, from the production of which the commodity producer deliberately refused, increased. 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 purchasing tool that has the ability to exchange for any product.
With the advent of money, exchange was divided into two opposite and complementary acts: sale and purchase. This created the conditions for the intermediary merchant to join in the exchange. As a result, a new major 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 an exchange relationship that is mediated by a monetary equivalent. It has the following form: T (goods) - D (money) - T (goods).
Types of division of labor
For general idea system of division of labor will give a description of its various types.
Natural division of labor
Historically, the natural division of labor was the first to appear. The natural division of labor is the process of separating the types of labor activity according to 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 perform certain types of activities. Or, as the philosopher Grigory Skovoroda said, the "affinity" of each person to a certain type of activity. So whatever kind of division of labor we may consider, 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 for ways, forms and methods of self-realization by each person, which often leads not only to 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 human life and society.
No socio-economic system, no matter how advanced it may be, can or should abandon the natural division of labor, especially with regard to women's work. It cannot be associated with those types of labor activity that can harm a woman's health and affect a new generation of people. Otherwise, the 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 kind 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 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 was required, as a result of which a significant mass of people engaged in this type of activity was released. 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) by 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 imposed by the very nature of man, so the technical division of labor is imposed by the very nature of the emerging new technical means, the means of production.
Social division of labor
Finally, it is necessary to dwell on the social division of labor, which is the 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 isolation, differentiation of various types of labor activity. The concept of social division of labor includes the natural and technical division of labor due to the fact that any kind of activity cannot be carried out outside of 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 activities, people use either outdated or new equipment, 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, having certain land plots, are engaged in both crop production and animal husbandry. However, accumulated experience and economic calculations suggest that if some of them specialize mainly in the cultivation and preparation of feed, while others are engaged only 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 animal husbandry, and then, within animal husbandry, there is a division of labor into meat and dairy areas.
Historically, the division of labor between livestock 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 sectors benefited from sharing their results. It should be noted that in the conditions of market relations, the division of labor is to a decisive extent predetermined by economic expediency, obtaining additional benefits, income, cost reduction, etc.
Sectoral and territorial division of labor
Within the framework of the social division of labor, it is necessary to single out the sectoral and territorial division of labor. The sectoral division of labor is predetermined by the conditions of production, the nature of the raw materials used, technology, equipment and the product being manufactured. 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, and communications, economic factors play a predominant role. However, the development of extractive industries and agriculture is dictated by natural factors. Varieties of the territorial division of labor are the regional, regional and international division of labor. But neither sectoral nor territorial division of labor can exist outside of each other.
General, private and individual division of labor
From the point of view of coverage, degree of independence, as well as technical, technological, organizational and economic relationships between different types of production in the social division of labor, it is important to distinguish three of its forms: general, private and individual. The general division of labor is characterized by the separation of large types (spheres) of activity, which differ from each other in the form of the product. It includes the allocation of pastoral tribes, i.e. separation of animal husbandry from agriculture, crafts 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, public 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 branches of production. It is characterized by the release of finished homogeneous or similar products, united by technical and technological unity. The private division of labor includes both individual industries and sub-sectors and individual industries. For example, within the framework of industry, such industries as mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and mining can be named, which in turn include a number of sub-sectors. Thus, in mechanical engineering, there are more than seventy sub-sectors and industries, including such as machine tool building, transport engineering, electrical engineering, electronic industry. Such a separation is also characteristic of all the other major types of production listed above.
The individual division of labor characterizes the isolation of the production of individual components of finished products, as well as the allocation of individual technological operations. It includes sub-detailed, node-by-unit (production of parts, assemblies, components) and operational (technological operations for physical, electrophysical, electrochemical processing) division of labor. A single division of labor, as a rule, takes place within individual enterprises.
Historically, the trend in the development of the social division of labor was determined by the transition from the general division to the particular and from the particular to the individual division of labor. In this regard, we can say that in its development the social division of labor went through three stages, each of which was determined by the general division of labor, then the private, then the individual. However, apparently, it is not necessary 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 development of the historically preceding 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 isolation, "spinning 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 dividing social production into more and more new types of activity. For example, before the 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 their implementation is carried out by another, completely independent economic entity. 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 manufactured products. Specialization, as it were, consolidates and deepens the process of differentiation. In the above example, there was a separation of production from sales (trade). Suppose a commodity producer produced various types of furniture, but later decided to concentrate his efforts on the production of only bedroom sets. The commodity producer has not abandoned the production of furniture, but is reorganizing production on the basis of replacing universal labor tools with specialized ones; the workforce is also selected on the basis of the benefits of experience and knowledge in the specific area of activity. Of course, there are many conventions and transitional states, but it is still 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 production of kitchen utensils, cutlery at one enterprise. An analogue of such production in trade can serve as a department store.
As for the concentration of production, it finds its technical manifestation in the ever-increasing concentration of the means of production (machinery, equipment, people, raw materials) and labor within one enterprise. However, the direction of development of production 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 hence the workforce.
Diversification
Diversification of production deserves special attention. Diversification should be understood as the expansion of the range of products. This is achieved in two ways. The first is market diversification. It is characterized by the expansion of the range of manufactured goods, which are already produced by other enterprises. At the same time, quite often the process of such diversification is accompanied by absorption 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 Diversification, unlike market diversification, creates and satisfies previously non-existing needs or satisfies existing needs with a new product or service. As a rule, production diversification is closely interconnected with the existing production at a given enterprise and grows organically from it.
Within the framework of industrial diversification, one should distinguish between technological, detailed and product diversification. Product diversification is developing on a large scale. So, with the help of the same technological operations, parts, assemblies, components, it is possible to assemble finished products and products that are very diverse in their functional purpose. But this becomes possible only under the conditions of expanding the process of diversification of the production of constituent components of finished products. It was production diversification, as a consequence of scientific and technical 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
Structural 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 technical progress, the constructive and technological commonality of the types of products produced, primarily assemblies, parts, and components, is increasingly manifested. Thus, about 60-75% of modern equipment and vehicles consist of similar or identical components and parts. This is a consequence of detailed and technological diversification.
The diversification of social production could not but affect sectoral differentiation. In conditions of unprecedented pace of product diversification, the principle of sectoral differentiation came into conflict with the trends in the social division of labor and the requirements of scientific and technological progress.
The growing constructive and technological commonality of the 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 branch are structurally incompatible with each other in terms of units, assemblies, parts and components, while products from other industries have a lot of structurally common elements with them. For example, there is nothing in common between cars and trucks, except for the principles of their operation and the names of components and parts, while the latter have a lot of identical components with products of the corresponding class of equipment for road construction, tractor, agricultural engineering.
The development of a single division into a private one
The modern production of component products, apparently, is at that stage of its development, at which their production has gone beyond the scope of individual enterprises and has already reached isolation into separate industries. The exit of a single division of labor beyond the boundaries of the enterprise is necessarily and objectively associated with the development of another trend - the development of a single division of labor into a private one. As long as the dedicated specialized production of component products remains closely connected with one final product, one can speak, albeit with certain, and sometimes significant deviations, of a single division of labor. When 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 that produce 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 kind, type, type of product) to complex, based on the combination of detailed and technologically highly specialized industries within industrial complexes, rather than individual enterprises, associations . With the growth of separate industries for the production of components, parts, components and the identification of their constructive and technological commonality, the integration of identical industries occurs. This leads to the formation of independent industries and industries for the production of intersectoral products.
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 the partial product and, on the contrary, the use of the partial product in a wide range of products indicates the leading role of value. It can be said that the more use value dominates exchange, the wider the scale of the individual division of labor, the more often and more urgently exchange value manifests itself, the more obvious is the development of the particular division of labor. Therefore, with the development of a single division of labor into a private all most of partial products acquires independent significance 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 of further development of industrial production is manifested, on the one hand, in the formation of intersectoral industries for the production of structurally and technologically related semi-products, and on the other hand, 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 trend of a private division of labor, of course, does not exclude its development in the traditional way - within the framework of the division of labor. At the same time, various types of labor activity, arising, transforming and separating, thereby create the basis for the formation of new large types of economic activity. Such new formations include public utilities, the agro-industrial complex (AIC), infrastructure, and scientific production. These new large spheres of social production were formed on a qualitatively new basis - through the integration of individual industries, i.e. on the basis of a private division of labor. So, the agro-industrial complex was formed on the basis of industries serving Agriculture and agricultural production. The communal economy has integrated heat supply, energy supply, gas economy. Consequently, at the present time, there is not a “growth” of a particular division of labor from a general one, but, on the contrary, the formation of a general division of labor on the basis of a particular one.
Having considered various aspects of the division of labor, I would like to draw attention to the fact that the more extensive and deeper the division of labor, the more developed the productive forces of society. A. Smith called the division of labor the leading force in economic development. It personifies the social productive force that arises from the form of labor organization and production management. Sometimes this productive force costs society little, but gives a huge return, expressed in the growth of social labor productivity.
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 for improving economic relations. Consequently, economic relations are a social shell for 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 the material and technical (productive forces) and socio-economic (production relations) aspects of social production.
Socialization of labor and production
The expansion and deepening of the division of labor presuppose the mutual conditioning and predetermination of separate types of activity and make it impossible for them to exist without each other. In this regard, we can conclude 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 directly labor activity, 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 the trends of its development, mark the process of unification of disparate spheres and economic entities into a single socialized production process. In the course of technical and socio-economic progress, various types of activities are combined, because most of the modern benefits are the result of the activities of a mass of people, some of whom are engaged in the production of individual parts, others - components, others - units, fourths - components, fifths - the implementation of individual technical operations, the sixth - assembly and assembly of finished products. The merging of fragmented production processes of various branches and spheres of the 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 lies in the very process of labor, which presupposes both one form or another of the interaction of the total labor force, and one or another socialized form of the 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 the socialization of the means of production, it is necessary to distinguish between two aspects: the socialization of the means of production as a factor of production, i.e. as the material and 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 a material factor and socio-economic relations.
The division of labor, its socialization and the socialization of the means of production are closely interconnected and complement each other. The relationship between them is mobile to the extent that the very material and technical base of social production is changeable, i.e. productive forces, the division and socialization of labor, and to what extent the forms of property are able to evolve in the direction of the socialization of the means of production in accordance with the requirements of the development of the 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 extent of their interaction, as well as interaction with the 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 of economic relations, the dominant 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, moved to manufacturing production (manufactory division of labor). However, the appearance of machines and their use in production opened the way to a qualitatively new division of labor and the socialization of production on the basis of the unification of isolated capitals into social capital in the form of joint-stock companies. Despite the private nature of this corporate form of ownership, in its way of functioning it acts as an integrated social force, as social capital. Thus, private capital, unable to ensure the appropriate division of labor and the 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 unity with the socialization of labor, allows us to consider the dynamics of social production as a first approximation. The first impetus in its development comes from the productive forces, but its real transformation (as well as economic utilization, 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 ones by virtue of their relation to production. In the same way, 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 aspects of the socialization of the means of production and labor as constituent parts a single process of socialization of production.
The socialization of the means of production can proceed in the following forms. First, by concentrating capital, i.e. increasing its size through the accumulation of investment in the production of part of the profits.
Secondly, on the basis of the centralization of capital, i.e. its growth through the absorption of weak competitors or the merger of relatively equivalent capital into a single entity. The processes of takeovers and mergers lead to the formation of oligopolistic and monopoly capital, which cannot function outside state supervision, and when certain conditions it can expect nationalization.
However, a much larger scale of the real socialization of the means of production is represented by corporate capital with its system of participation in the financial control of branches, branches, subsidiaries and grandchildren, associated enterprises, as well as tens of thousands of "independent" enterprises, which 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 whole 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, the growth of capital embodies 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. Here there is no cooperation of labor between the individual links of production, and the exchange of 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 important, which can be realized in the form of a direct exchange of labor activity within a separate economic unit (enterprise) and in the form of an exchange of the results of labor activity 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 employees of individual enterprises acts as a part of the labor of the total 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 the total worker in a given area of production. Under the conditions of scientific and technical progress, a huge number of enterprises are drawn into a single intersectoral production process on the basis of 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 relations in the sphere of production of goods and services. Production cooperation is the combination of separated production operations or separate releases of units and parts necessary for the manufacture of final products into a single production process.
findings
1. The division of labor is the historical process of separating various types of labor activity into independent or interrelated productions, 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. There are three types of division of labor: natural, technical and social. The natural division of labor is predetermined by the separation of labor activity according to gender and age, the technical division of labor is determined by the nature of the equipment and technology used, the social division of labor is determined 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 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 of large areas of social production.
4. 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 activity. Specialization expresses a type of differentiation characterized by the concentration of means of production and labor on the production of a narrow range of products, while universalization, on the contrary, is accompanied by a concentration of means of production and labor in order to produce a wide range of products. Diversification refers to the expansion of the range of products produced by an enterprise.
5. The division of labor, speaking in various types and forms of its manifestation, is a determining 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 its individual types forces commodity producers to enter into exchange relations in order to obtain what they lack. good.
Any organization of labor in an enterprise should begin with its own division, representing the isolation of the activities of each employee and much more. The division of activity is a long-established process, which includes the isolation, consolidation and modification of certain types of activity (labor). At the heart of any division are the main types of labor:
- physical;
- mental.
physical activity
AT this case a person acts as an instrument of labor, as he performs energy functions in the system. Types of manual labor: dynamic and static. In dynamic labor, a person must move his torso in space. Static - the impact of the load on the hands, muscles, joints.
Manual activity is characterized by a higher muscular load, which falls on the musculoskeletal system and body systems. At the same time, the muscular system develops, stimulating metabolic processes.
Brainwork
It is the reception and processing of information. Such work requires tension of attention, activation of thought processes, memory. Labor is associated with a rather high emotional load. But prolonged mental stress negatively affects the mental activity of a person. There is a deterioration in attention, memory, functions of perception of the environment.
Elements of an organization
The organization of labor in an enterprise is the establishment and change of the order according to which workers interact with the means of production. Also, interaction between employees should be established to achieve the goals of the activity. Labor is organized if it:
- cooperated;
- divided;
- the workplace is organized;
- organized maintenance of the workplace;
- established methods and techniques of labor;
- norms and measures of labor costs are established;
- favorable conditions have been created;
- personnel are selected, trained and can improve their qualifications;
- labor is paid and materially stimulated;
- labor activity is planned, recorded and analyzed;
- there is work discipline.
Interrelated types of work
In a general sense, there are three interrelated types of division of labor activity:
- General (delimitation of the activities of workers between large industries, for example, transport, industry, construction).
- Private (within a separate industry).
- Single (labor is divided among the employees of a separate enterprise).
Depending on the type and type of work, there are such types of division of labor as functional, qualification, professional and technological. It is also divided on a territorial basis (large and small divisions) and within divisions.
Functional form of division of labor
With this form, the division of personnel into homogeneous groups is assumed, differing from each other in the role in the production process or in the activities carried out. The most numerous functional group of personnel are workers: auxiliary and main. If the former are engaged in and perform the main functions of production, then the second group ensures the performance of these functions (repair, adjustment, control).
According to the functions that employees perform, other categories are also distinguished. These include specialists, managers, employees, technical performers, junior service personnel, students, etc.
If there is a functional division of labor in the enterprise, we can say that all categories of personnel are effectively used.
With this type of division of activities, it is supposed to increase efficiency through the specialization of workers, engineering and technical workers and those who work, taking as a basis a clear division of the functions of marketing, management, design, personnel management, production of goods, etc.
Technological distribution of labor
The technological distribution of labor provides for the arrangement of workers by phases and stages, types of work, etc., as well as by production operations. It depends on the production technology and the features of the work. This distribution of labor has an impact on the level of content of labor. And if a narrow specialization is prone to monotony, then a broad one has a high probability that the work will be performed poorly. Therefore, the organizer faces a responsible task: to find the optimal level of division of labor activity on a technological basis. This form has three varieties: subject, staged and operational division of labor. 
Qualification and professional division of labor
Such types of separation, as professional and qualification, are similar, because they depend on the employee himself.
The above division of labor implies a division according to professions and specialties. According to this form of separation, the required number of different categories of workers is established.
Qualification division - distribution of work depending on the complexity and in accordance with the knowledge and experience of employees. Divide responsibilities among employees different groups with the same qualifications. Qualification ranks set the appropriate skill levels for workers. The higher the rank, the correspondingly higher the level of qualification.
The listed types and forms of labor, as well as the forms of cooperation of activities corresponding to them, should characterize the features of interaction between workers in production. These types of division of labor create for the organization ample opportunities for the use of labor.
Forms of organization of labor activity
Methods for setting plan targets, as well as how the work already done is taken into account, make it possible to single out the following types of labor organization:
- Individual form. It is used to ensure that each employee has their own task. Accordingly, accounting for the work performed is carried out individually, which means that everyone has a separately formed income.
- collective form. In this case, the whole team receives the task. The produced products are taken into account according to the final results of the work. The whole team receives a certain income.
In addition to the main two forms, there are the following types of labor or forms of organization:
- division according to the formation of funds for the implementation of activities (small enterprise, cooperative, rent, contract, individual labor activity);
- according to the method of interaction with higher authorities (contract, lease agreement, work contract and direct subordination);
- according to the management of collectives (full, partial and self-management);
- by the size of the team and its place in the management hierarchy (group, shop, district, link, brigade, etc.);
- according to the division and cooperation of labor in complex units (complete division of labor, partial interchangeability and complete interchangeability);
- division according to the method of planning and cost accounting (self-supporting, with and without self-supporting elements);
- in accordance with the method of payment and material incentives (individual wages, collective wages - based on the tariff system, possibly with the use of coefficients; tariff-free wage system).
The above forms can be combined.
Working conditions
Under working conditions understand the totality of factors of the working environment and the labor process, where human activities are carried out. Types of working conditions are divided into four classes based on hygienic criteria:
- Optimal conditions. Under such conditions, the health of the worker is maintained, a high level of working capacity is maintained.
- Permissible conditions. In this case, the factors of the production environment do not exceed the permissible levels of hygienic standards for workers. If there are any changes, then during the regulated rest the body of the worker is restored.
- Harmful conditions. The cumulative factors of the labor process have a harmful or severe impact on health, as well as on a person's performance in the labor process.
- Dangerous conditions. Production factors at such a level that, affecting workers, they pose a threat to life or injury, mutilation. Traditionally, industrial organizations are engaged in, for example, atomic energy. Of course, it is forbidden to work in such conditions. But in case of an accident, emergency measures should be taken in such places.
Work safety
All types of work need to be safe, that is, the worker should not be exposed to dangerous factors of production. The main sources of law on the safety of activities are the following documents:
- International Act on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1996).
- ILO Convention.
- Constitution Russian Federation(Article 7 - labor protection and human health). It also sets the minimum wage. Article 37 specifies the right to work in conditions of safety and hygiene. In addition, forced labor is prohibited.
- The Labor Code in Article 219 defines the rights of each employee to his workplace, obtaining reliable information about working conditions, and social insurance. Also, a person may refuse to work in case of danger to health or life. Each employee must be provided with personal and collective protective equipment, etc.
Other types of labor
The result of the work is also a criterion by which labor is divided into two types:
- past and alive. In the first case, this is the embodiment in objects and means of labor. In the second case, it is the labor of the worker, which is expended at a given time.
- Unproductive and productive. The second leads to natural-material benefits, and the first - to social and spiritual, but they are no less useful and valuable for society.
It is also worth mentioning reproductive and creative labor. Reproductive results in previously known results, since it is distinguished by the standardity of all reproducible functions. creative activity not everyone can do it. Everything is determined by the level of education, and qualifications, and the ability to innovate.
Each person begins to learn all kinds of labor at school. Of course, most of the time is spent on mental activity. But things like Physical Culture or work, introduce physical activity.
The concept and types of labor are multifaceted. They can be viewed from different sides, each time to discover new sides. However, the main, generally accepted divisions of labor activity should be known in order to understand the difference between them. This can be useful, for example, when applying for a job.
Faculty of International Relations
Abstract on the topic:
"Division of labor"
Completed by a 1st year student
Solodysheva Marina Sergeevna
Specialty Customs
On the subject "Economic theory"
Minsk, 2005
Division of labor: concept and general characteristics.
The basis of economic development is the creation of nature itself - the division of functions between people, based on age, sex, physical, physiological and other characteristics. The mechanism of economic cooperation assumes that some group or individual focuses on the performance of a strictly defined type of work, while others are engaged in other types of activities.
There are several definitions of the division of labor. Here are just a few of them.
Division of labor- this is a historical process of isolation, consolidation, modification of certain types of activity, which takes place in social forms of differentiation and 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 labor process itself is becoming more complex and deepening.
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 get 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 narrow sense (according to K. Marx).
In a broad sense division of labor- this is a system of different in their characteristics and at the same time interacting with each other types of labor, production functions, occupations in general or their combinations, as well as a system of social relations between them. The empirical diversity of occupations is considered by economic statistics, labor economics, sectoral economic sciences, demography, etc. The territorial, including international, division of labor is described by economic geography. To determine the correlation of various production functions from the point of view of their material result, K. Marx preferred to use the term "distribution of labor".
In a narrow sense division of labor- this is the social division of labor as a human activity in its social essence, which, in contrast to specialization, is a historically transient social relationship. The specialization of labor is the division of the types of labor according to the object, which directly expresses the progress of the productive forces and contributes to it. The diversity of such species corresponds to the degree of development of nature by man and grows along with his development. However, in class formations, specialization does not take place as a specialization of integral activities, since it is itself influenced by the social division of labor. The latter divides human activity into such partial functions and operations, each of which in itself no longer has the nature of activity and does not act as a way for a person to reproduce his social relations, his culture, his spiritual wealth and himself as a person. These partial functions lack their own meaning and logic; their necessity appears only as requirements imposed on them from the outside by the system of division of labor. Such is the division of material and spiritual (mental and physical), executive and managerial labor, practical and ideological functions, etc. An expression of the social division of labor is the separation of material production, science, art, etc., as separate spheres, as well as the division themselves. The division of labor historically inevitably grows to a class division.
Due to the fact that the members of society began to specialize in the production of certain goods, professions- individual activities associated with the production of a good .
But the division of labor does not at all mean that in our imaginary society one person will be engaged in one kind of production. It may turn out that several people will have to engage in a particular 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 benefit and the productivity of a particular profession. If one fisherman can catch in a day just enough fish for all members of the society, then there will be just one fisherman on this farm. But if one hunter from the mentioned tribe cannot shoot quails for everyone and his work will not be enough to satisfy the needs of all members of the economy in quails, then several people will go hunting at once. Or, for example, if one potter can produce so many pots that society cannot consume, then he will have extra time that he can use to produce some other good, such as spoons or plates.
Thus, the degree of "division" of labor depends on the size of society. For a certain population (that is, for a certain composition and size of needs), there is an optimal structure of occupations, in which the product produced by different producers 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. 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 went 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.
v Natural division of labor: the process of separating the types of labor activity according to gender and age.
v Technical division of labor: determined by the nature of the means of production used, primarily machinery and technology.
v Social division of labor: the natural and technical division of labor, taken in their interaction and in unity with economic factors, under the influence of which there is an isolation, differentiation of various types of labor activity.
In addition, the social division of labor includes 2 more subspecies: sectoral and territorial. Sectoral division of labor is predetermined by the conditions of production, the nature of the raw materials used, technology, equipment and the product being manufactured. Territorial division of labor- this 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.
Under geographical division of labor we understand the spatial form of the social division of labor. A necessary condition for the geographical division of labor is that different countries(or districts) worked for each other, so that the result of labor would be transported from one place to another, so that there would be a gap between the place of production and the place of consumption.
In the conditions of a commodity society, the geographical division of labor necessarily implies the transfer of products from economy to economy, i.e. exchange, trade, but under these conditions, exchange is only a sign for "recognizing" the presence of a geographical division of labor, but not its "essence".
There are 3 forms of social division of labor:
þ The general division of labor is characterized by the separation of large types (spheres) of activity, which differ from each other in the form of the product.
þ Private division of labor is the process of separating individual industries within the framework of large types of production.
þ The individual division of labor characterizes the isolation of the production of individual components of finished products, as well as the allocation of individual technological operations.
Ø Differentiation consists in the process of separating individual industries, due to the specifics of the means of production, technology and labor used.
Ø Specialization is based on differentiation, but it develops already on the basis of focusing efforts on a narrow range of manufactured products.
Ø Universalization is the opposite of specialization. It is based on the production and sale of a wide range of goods and services.
Ø Diversification is the expansion of the range of products.
The first and main statement put forward by A. Smith, which determines the greatest progress in the development of the productive power of labor and a significant share of the art, skill and ingenuity with which it (progress) is directed and applied, is a consequence of the division of labor. The division of labor is the most important and unacceptable condition for the progress in the development of productive forces, the development of the economy of any state, any society. A. Smith gives the simplest example of the action of the division of labor in small and large enterprises (manufactory in contemporary society) - the elementary production of pins. A worker who is not trained in this industry and who does not know how to handle the machines used in it (the impetus for the invention of machines was given precisely by the division of labor) can hardly make one pin a day. With the organization that exists in such production, it is necessary to subdivide the profession into a number of specialties, each of which is a separate occupation. One worker pulls the wire, the other straightens it, the third cuts it, the fourth sharpens the end, the fifth grinds it to fit the head, the manufacture of which requires two or three more independent operations, in addition, its nozzle, polishing the pin itself, packaging the finished product. Thus, labor in the production of pins is divided into a multi-stage series of operations, and, depending on the organization of production and the size of the enterprise, they can be performed individually (one worker - one operation), or combined into 2 - 3 (one worker - 2 - 3 operations). ). Using this simplest example, A. Smith affirms the undoubted priority of such a division of labor over the labor of a lone worker. 10 workers worked out 48,000 pins a day, while one is capable of 20 pieces at a high voltage. The division of labor in any trade, no matter how much it is introduced, causes an increase in the productivity of labor. Further development (up to the present day) of production in any sector of the economy was the clearest confirmation of the "discovery" of A. Smith.
Strictly speaking, the division of labor in human societies could always be found. After all, people have never existed alone, and cases of the emergence of a society and an economy consisting of one person (such as the economy of Robinson Crusoe) were a fairly rare exception. People have always lived at least as a family or tribe.
But the development of the division of labor in the economy of any society goes through several successive stages from a primitive state to an extremely complex scheme of distribution of duties. Schematically, this evolution can be represented as follows.
First stage. This is a natural division of labor within primitive society. In such a society there has always been some distribution of duties, determined partly by the nature of each person, partly by custom, and partly by economies of scale you know. As a rule, men were engaged in hunting and war, and women watched the hearth and nursed children. In addition, in almost any tribe one could find such "professions" as a leader and a priest (shaman, sorcerer, etc.).
Second stage. As the number of members of society grows, the need for each good increases and it becomes possible for individuals to concentrate on the production of individual goods. Therefore, in societies there are various professions(artisans, farmers, cattle breeders, etc.).
The process of identifying professions begins, of course, with the production of tools. Even in the Stone Age (!) there were craftsmen who were engaged in hewing and grinding stone tools. With the discovery of iron, one of the most common professions in the past appears blacksmith.
A characteristic feature of this stage is that the manufacturer produces all (or almost all) possible products associated with his profession (as a rule, this is the processing of some type of raw material). For example, a blacksmith makes everything from nails and horseshoes to plows and swords, a carpenter makes everything from stools to cabinets, and so on.
At this stage of the division of labor, part of the family members of the craftsman or even the whole family helps him in production, performing certain operations. For example, a blacksmith or a carpenter can be helped by sons and brothers, and a weaver or a baker = a wife and daughters.
Third stage. With an increase in the population and, accordingly, the size of demand for individual products, artisans begin to concentrate on the production of some one good. Some blacksmiths make horseshoes, others only knives and scissors, others only nails. different sizes, fourth only weapons, etc.
In Ancient Russia, for example, the following names of woodworkers existed: woodworkers, shipbuilders, bridgers, woodworkers, builders, city dwellers(fortification of cities), vicious(production of battering rams), archers, baptismal, barrel-carriers, sleighmen, charioteers etc.
An important factor affecting labor productivity is labor cooperation. The deeper the division of labor and the narrower the specialization of production becomes, the more producers become interdependent, the more necessary is coherence and coordination of actions between different industries. To operate in conditions of interdependence, labor cooperation is necessary, both in the conditions of the enterprise and in the conditions of the whole society.
labor cooperation- a form of labor organization, work performance, based on the joint participation in a single labor process of a significant number of workers performing different operations of this process.
The form of organization of social labor, in which big number people jointly participate in the same labor process or in different, but interconnected, labor processes. Along with the division of labor, labor cooperation is a fundamental factor in the growth of productivity and efficiency in all areas professional activity.
Labor cooperation is the unity, coordination of joint actions of producers, various industries and sectors of the economy.
Cooperation of labor makes it possible to avoid many mistakes, such as duplication of production, overproduction. On the other hand, the consistency and coordination of actions, the unification of many efforts allows us to do what is beyond the power of one manufacturer or one enterprise. In the case of simple labor cooperation, which takes place, for example, in the construction of houses, hydroelectric power stations, the beneficial effect of cooperation is obvious. Labor cooperation takes place in all spheres economic activity, it takes a variety of forms .
World experience shows that cooperation between labor and production is an objective historical process that is inherent in all modes of production, in countries with any socio-economic system. In the cooperation of production, advanced ideas, achievements in the fields of fundamental science, research and development work (R&D), production, design, management and information technologies are combined and materialized.
Cooperation in the modern world is becoming a reproductive base for socio-economic and scientific and technological progress of the countries of the world, the core of world economic processes, regional economic integration, transnationalization (production, R&D, information and financial sphere, etc.), international industrial cooperation, globalization of the world economy . This form of interaction has become an accelerator of the restructuring of industry, its sectoral and interdepartmental complexes on a new technological basis, including through the widespread use of electronic and information technologies.
International specialization and cooperation of production corresponds to a high level of development of the productive forces and acts as one of the most important objective prerequisites for the further development of the internationalization of economic life, strengthening the interconnection of national economies. Now hundreds of thousands of semi-finished products are circulating on the foreign market, the analogues of which only one and a half to two decades ago were circulating only at the intra-company level.
It was the division of labor that caused the separation from each other of various professions and occupations, which primarily contributed to an increase in productivity, and the higher the stage of the country's industrial development, the further such a division goes. What in the savage state of society is the work of one person, in a more developed state it is done by several. The labor necessary for the production of any finished object is always distributed among a large number of people.
The division of labor, acting in various types and forms of its manifestation, is a determining 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 its individual types forces commodity producers to enter into exchange relations in order to obtain the goods they lack. good. J
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differentiation and isolation of people's activities in the process of joint labor. There is a general division of labor - the separation of various types of labor activity on the scale of the national economy (industry, transport, agriculture, etc.); private - characterizes the division and isolation of industrial production into separate economic sectors (machine tool building, shipbuilding, etc.); single - represent the separation of various types of work within the framework of one industrial enterprise. The main forms of intra-production division of labor are functional, technological and vocational. In accordance with the functional division of labor, employees of the enterprise are divided into industrial and production personnel and personnel engaged in non-industrial work (household services, etc.). The technological division of labor is the division and isolation of the production process according to the subject or operational principle. The subject (detailed) division provides for the assignment to the worker of a complex of various operations aimed at manufacturing a certain type of product. Operational - is based on the assignment of a limited set of technological operations to specialized jobs and is the basis for the formation of production lines. The professional and qualification division of labor makes it possible to group workers according to the types of technological processes they carry out, highlighting various professions and specialties, and within them - qualification categories, etc. The objects of labor are all that labor is aimed at, which undergoes changes in order to acquire useful properties and thereby satisfy human needs. The productive power of labor is its ability to produce more and more products as the technical equipment of production grows. Professional r.t. - specialties and professions
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