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.
Explanation
(a)The term used to describe the production process is division of labour.
(b)(i) Advantages of division of labour: 1 The workers would be highly productive as a result of specialized tools, machinery and equipment being used/ Increase in production. (2) The period of training workers would be reduced thereby making staff replacement easy. (3) There will be efficiency in terms of time spent in production. (4) There would be greater efficiency as a result of individual and collective responsibility in the production process/ Better production technology. (5) There would be economy in the use of tools as workers do not have to move from one process to another. (6) There would be an increase in skills and mobility of labour within the workplace. ( 7) There would be reduction in cost of production leading to lowering of the selling price to attract more customers. (8) The process will lead to the development of sophisticated equipment and would reduce the stress of staff (9) Large scale production would result due to specialization/Economies of large scale.
(b)(ii) Disadvantages of division of labour: (1) Inefficiency of one worker would affect the production process. (2) The workers may not feel responsible for the result of the process in which they contribute. (3) Absence of one worker could delay the work being done which reduces Productivity. (4) Work becomes repetitive and Workers will lose interest in the work being done(monotony). (5) The start-up cost will be high as initial cost necessary to buy specialist machinery may lead to a higher break-even point. (6) There is the danger of one unit over producing than the other unit if not well monitored.