Evolution of process of division of labor

At the moment, many companies and firms use social division of labor in order to facilitate and improve the efficiency of the production process. The development of division of labor happened for a long time and in some historical stages.

The first stage - a natural division of labor in primitive society, in which there was some division of responsibilities, which was defined by the nature of every human being, traditions, economies of scale. The development of division of labor was considered also by philosophers of that time. For example, Plato in his works paid much attention to the problem of the division of labor, considering it as the natural phenomenon. In his concept, he argued a born inequality of people. The division into free and slave was considered as a normal state caused by nature. Slaves were considered as the primary productive force, and their exploitation - as a means of enriching of the slaveholders. Free citizens could only be Greeks, and slaves became a barbarian and foreigners.

The second stage was caused by growth of the number of members of society, the need for each benefit increases and therefore there is a possibility of concentration of certain people on production of certain benefits. In societies appeared various professions (handicraftsmen, farmers, cattle-farmers etc.). The process of allocation of professions begins with production of instruments of labor. It should be noted, that even in the Stone Age there were masters who were engaged in a scabbling and polishing of stone tools. After discovery of iron, the most widespread profession appeared - the smith. The characteristic of this stage is the production by the manufacturer of the various products connected with his profession (as a rule, it is processing of some type of raw materials). For example, the smith does everything from nails and horseshoes to plows and swords, the joiner does all products, beginning from stools and finishing with cases. At this stage of division of labor almost all family members help him with production, carrying out these or those operations. For example, the smith or the joiner can be helped by sons and brothers, and to the weaver or the baker - the wife and daughters.

The third stage begins with the increase in population and the size of demand for separate products. Handicraftsmen begin concentrating on the production of one benefit. One smiths do horseshoes, other - knives and scissors, the third - nails of the different sizes, the fourth - the weapon, that is why the specialization appeared. For example, in Ancient Russia there were following types of masters in a tree: drevodela, korabletvoryashchy, mostnik, drevyanyezdatel, gorodnik (strengthening of the cities), vicious (production stenobitnykh of tools), luchnitsa, etc. Considering foreign experience, we should mention Adam Smith who connected the division of labor with the development of the industry that in turn, led to increase in trade and monetary circulation.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote: "The various stages in the development of the division of labor are at the same time different forms of ownership, i. e. each stage of division of labor determines also the relations of individuals to each other according to their relation to the material, instruments and products of labor".

During the previous history of mankind the production process was the fact that people with each other and the subject of labor wedged the instrument of production, thereby becoming the direct component of the production process.

With the development of instruments of production there were a relevance and need of the isolated work of individuals, and more productive tools gave the chance of the isolated existence of separate families. So there was a transformation of social activities, what it was in primitive communities, into a private work.

The growth of productive forces of society is the defining condition of division of labor. The level of the development of productive forces of the nation is found most clearly in the degree of development of division of labor. The defining role in process deepening of division of labor is played by the development and the differentiation of instruments of production. The division of labor thereby promotes the development of productive forces and the growth of labor productivity. The building of work experience and skills to work is in direct relationship with the degree of the division of labor and the specialization of employees on certain types of work. Technical progress is inextricably linked with the development of the social division of labor.

The growth and deepening of the division of labor influence on the development of relations of production. Within a primitive-communal system there was the first large public division of labor (separation of pastoral tribes). It created conditions for a regular exchange between tribes. The first large public division of labor involved slavery that, in turn, divided society into two classes — misters and slaves. At the emergence of a slaveholding system, based on the further growth of the productive forces developed the second large public division of labor — separation of craft from agriculture which laid the foundation to separation of the city from the village. In a consequence of these factors there was an origin of commodity production. Further development of an exchange caused the third large public division of labor — the separation of trade from production and allocation of merchants. There is a contrast between intellectual and physical work during the era of slavery. The emergence of territorial and professional division of labor belongs to an extreme antiquity.

The emergence and development of the machine industry was accompanied by a significant deepening of the social division of labor, spontaneous formation of new industries.

In the modern society the division of labor gets new forms: single and international. Single division of labor characterizes the isolation of production of separate components of ready-made products, and also allocation of separate technological operations. It includes: detailed, rolling and operational division of labor. Single division of labor most often takes place within the separate enterprises. The international division of labor is a specialization of the certain countries on the production of certain types of production which they exchange among themselves. The international division of labor can be considered as an important stage in the development of public territorial division of labor between the two countries, which is based on cost-effective production specialization of individual countries on various types of products and leads to sharing the results of production between certain quantitative and qualitative ratios. The international division of labor, as well as the division of labor in general, doesn't exist without exchange, which takes a special place in the internationalization of a social production. Under the influence of such form of division of labor commercial relations between the countries become complicated and enriched, more and more developing into a complex system of the e world economic communications.

Besides, the diversification of a social production couldn't affect the branch differentiation. In the conditions of unprecedented rates of the grocery diversification the principle of branch differentiation conflicted to the tendencies of the public division of labor, requirements of the scientific technical progress. The increasing structural and technological integrity of the ever-increasing mass of varieties of products gives rise to a complex and contradictory process of the autonomy of production of finished products and their constituent components. That is connected with that many types of production of the same economic branch are structurally not compatible among themselves regarding units, knots, details and components while products of other branches have with them mass of the general elements in the constructive relation. For example, there is nothing in common between the cars and trucks, in addition to the principles of their functioning and the names of units and components, whereas the last one have a mass of identical composite components with the production of the corresponding class of road-building equipment, tractors, agricultural mechanical engineering.

Development of detailed production and technological specialization in the society forms the basis for the transition from the simple to the difficult cooperation, which is based on a combination of highly specialized parts and equipment industries within industrial complexes.

To growth of the isolated productions on release of knots, details, components there is an integration of identical productions that causes the formation of independent productions and branches on production of interindustry appointment.

Thus, we can conclude that the division of labor is a complex and lengthy process that is influenced by many factors, which becomes complicated in the process of complication of a social system.