Michael Bleaney Planners and enterprises (5 other sources to choose Lab Report

Michael Bleaney Planners and enterprises (5 other sources to choose from) - Lab Report Example According to Stigler (1951, 187) Adam Smith explains this concept with his famous example of pin-making. If one person were to make pins, he would probably be able to make just one pin in a day. However, if the pin making process is divided into 18 stages and in all 10 workers split these tasks among themselves, each doing just one type of job, together they were able to produce 48000 pins. This is because as the task is divided each labor becomes proficient and specialized in that task as he is concentrating on just one type of work and therefore the human mind discovers the most efficient way of doing that task. Thus with division of labor, there is an increase in the production, skill and efficiency of time giving rise to the invention of machines. However, Adam Smith recognizes the disadvantages of division of labor and says that with specialization, when a man spends his whole life performing a few simple tasks he becomes stupid and ignorant. At the same time however, he also says that division of labor causes inventions and technological advancements. The contradiction is that when the division of labor makes the worker and in turn society as a whole stupid, then how can there be technological advancement and inventions in the same society (Stigler 187-188). Many economists according to Stigler (1951, 189) have held this against Adam Smith and have found his theory to be contradictory. However, upon closer scrutiny we see that when Smith said that the workman who spends his life doing a few simple tasks has no opportunity to implement his understanding and innovations as his work is too mechanical. He has no need to attempt to remove difficulties that never occur. He thus automatically loses the habit of exerting and generally becomes stupid and ignorant. Thus according to Smith his deftness at his own particular work is at the expense