INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: Essay #7

Division of Labor.

  England was becoming increasingly rich during the eighteenth century since she dominated the trade of manufactured goods. Craftsmen played a fundamental role in keeping the production and the wealth of the nation. They wanted to produce huge amounts of manufactured products in a short time and in a simpler way, so they encouraged the new processes. The constant demand that they received forced them to find new methods to increase output and carry out a more efficient work.

  Firstly, the main method for making production more efficient and quick was the division of labour so that one single workman would be specialized in only one simple process so as to produce more. Having workers perform single or limited tasks eliminated the long training period required to train craftsmen, who were replaced with lesser paid but more productive unskilled workers.  Adam Smith foresaw the essence of industrialism by determining that division of labour represents a qualitative increase in productivity. Smith saw the importance of matching skills with equipment – usually in the context of an organization. For example, pin makers were organized with one making the head, another body, and each using different equipment.

 Secondly, the craftsmen wanted to increase production at all costs so they decided to implement the use of machines that would replace a workman. The machines´ work was usually quicker and more accurate. They also supported the simplification of products so as to spend less time, money, and energy to decorate them. A clear example of these changes was the English clockmaking because in the past it used to be only in charge of specialized master craftsmen. However, with the implementation of the division of labour, clockmaking became a widespread national industry in which all workers were involved. Those products were so efficient and cheap that they quickly captured the European market.

 In conclusion, the English were ambitious and wanted to impose themselves as the leading nation in the industrial trade, that is why they came up with different ideas to make high quality production in a considerable short time. There is no doubt that the division of labour contributed to simplify craftsmen´s work and it proved to be efficacious, especially in the metal trades.