Question

In a carpentry workshop of three employees, one is responsible for cutting the wood, another for fixing and a third for polishing and spraying the furniture.
(a) Identify the term that describes the production process the workshop uses.
(b)(i) State five advantages of the production process identified in 1(a) to the workshop.
(ii) State four disadvantages of the production process identified in 1(a) to the workshop.

Accepted Answer

(a) The workshop uses the DIVISION OF LABOUR (specialization) production process.

(b)(i) Advantages of division of labour to the workshop:
- It leads to specialization, which improves the skills of the labour force.
- It leads to production of a larger quantity of furniture.
- It is a means of creating more jobs.
- Wastage of resources/materials is minimized.
- The production process becomes more speedy, as movement of labour from one function to another is minimized.

(b)(ii) Disadvantages of division of labour to the workshop:
- Monotonous nature of the job for the labour, as a result of repeating the same task every time.
- Limited skills on the part of each labourer - a worker becomes skillful only in the line in which he specializes.
- High cost of production, as more specialized labour may need to be paid more; this is worse if production is not carried out in large volume.
- Total breakdown of production may occur if one section of the labour force (e.g. the person fixing) is unavailable.

NABTEB Commerce 2022 Theory — Question 1

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