Division of labor

Division of Labour is a method of working, described by Adam Smith in his book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776).

It can be characterised as the splitting of a broad task into subtasks, each of which is then assigned to a worker who specialises in carrying out that subtask. The specialisation and concentration of the workers on their single subtasks often leads to greater skill and greater productivity on their particular subtasks than would be achieved by the same number of workers each carrying out the original broad task. However, it may also lead to workers with poorer overall skills and a lack of enthusiasm for their work.