Monotony
kills…though work gives bread;
Last week, we saw the advantages for the
employer in the division of labour. The analysts, however, point out the
disadvantages of the division of labour also, particularly for the worker.
We saw the division of labour increases
the efficiency of the worker since he does the same small job ; he becomes an
expert, taking less time in due course. There are some more qualities that he
develops which help him in life in general.
It is possible that he may at times feel like doing the same job in a
different way. This kind of out of the box thinking develops his intellectual
capacity. Many inventions are the result of radically different approach to the
same work. From ordinary bullock-cart to the ultra-modern jet plane, the
development testifies to the fact that man wanted to conquer distance faster
and quicker. Another significant character he develops because of the division
of labour helps him learn how to behave with others. In the workplace, he has
to give his best to the other workers who in turn give their best to him. This quality of social living in an
atmosphere of togetherness marks the vital necessity of any man of any society.
But these desirable qualities do not
come alone exclusively to shape the worker. The division of labour has its own
disadvantages also.
First of them, they say is monotony. Soon, the worker begins to feel monotonous
and bored since he is doing the same job for hours on end everyday and the work
becomes mechanical, taking away the spirit of happiness from the worker. Sociologists have talked about the curse of
alienation which is so subtle that we need not go into all those details. In
short, man becomes by doing the same job for many years less human and more of
a machine. Acquisition of efficiency occurs at the expense of the very joy of
living. Another most serious demerit of the system for the worker is he becomes
ineligible for any other work since he knows only a small part of a whole job.
Thus, specialization takes away from him the possibility of employment in a
different place for some different job. The division of labour has become for
him a big hurdle rather than a help.
For the employer also, there are some
very crucial setbacks in the division of labour. When many do their specific jobs in right
time in the right way, a product is born. The singular danger inbuilt in this
system is when one of the many is absent, the work-chain becomes disrupted and
the production is seriously affected. It is not possible to make any one worker
accountable for the product. Absence of accountability leads to inefficiency.
There is one more serious disadvantage
in the system of division of labour. If one worker produces an output of some
inferior quality, the entire product becomes inferior.
Division of labour is the first
principle of management. In the next session, we shall go to the next principle
of management: Authority and Responsibility. |