Journal of Applied Economic Research
ISSN 2712-7435
The Division Of Labour And The Evolution Of The Firm
Anokhov I.V.
Abstract
The subject of the research is the phenomenon of the division of labor, which constitutes the basis of social and technological progress. The firm as an economic structure is the result of that division. In fact, the emergence of the firm from the mass of artisans, single-handedly performing all work operations, remains a subject for hot debate by professional economists and management professionals. Known types of organizational structures (linear, line-and-staff, divisional, etc.) register the fact of the existence of such structures, but say nothing about the causes of their formation. The only thing here to note is that these types of organizational structure are the frozen result of the division of labour deployed in the previous time interval. Each firm is unique, depending on its operational environment and goals. But regardless of specific differences, all firms build their structure according to certain principles, the key one being the technological and functional division of labour. The challenge is how to best articulate the principles and to tailor them to the "skeleton" of the firm. Each stage of the division of labour leads to a new combination of factors of production, to a new qualitative and quantitative ratio of used resources. The economic practice shows that the maximum profit and minimum costs were achieved by the systems that provided more opportunities for a deeper division of labour. Such concepts as "mission, "organizational culture" are the most important instruments for the implementation of enterprise functions and are directly related to division of labor as they represent the most complex levels of functional division of labour. The aim of the research is to study the evolution of the division of labor within the firm, to establish the principles of complicating the structure of the firm. To achieve the objectives of the study, we develop our own definition of entire work and present the principles of evolution of the division of labor in a firm. We also propose a scheme of levels of the functional and technological division of labour. The practical significance of this study is the possibility of using the key findings and the provisions contained in the study in the development of new forms of work organization in the firm.
Keywords
Key words: division of labor; specialization; functional and technological division of labor.
About Authors
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/vestnik.2016.15.1.08
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