Question

When adam​ smith's ten pin workers​ specialized, they were able to increase the output of pins in a day from 200 to​ 48,000. one reason for the increase in pin production was due to

a. the bonus they received when they produced more pins.
b. the mastery each worker achieved over his assigned task.
c. the threats the supervisor made to fire them if they did not increase output.
d. the boredom the workers suffered when they stopped making a whole pin and only concentrated on one task such as straightening the wire?

Answer 1

The answer is b. Smith saw the key cause of affluence as increasing division of labor. By means of the famous model of pins, Smith declared that ten workers could yield 48,000 pins each day if for each of eighteen specialized tasks was allotted to specific workers. Average productivity: 4,800 pins per worker per day. But preoccupied the division of labor, an employee would be fortunate to make even one pin per day.