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Difficulty: MediumDivision of Labor and Specialization

A commercial bakery in Kano operates an assembly line where workers are assigned exclusively to mixing, kneading, baking, or packaging. During a morning shift, a machine breakdown in the mixing department causes the entire factory to halt production because workers in the kneading and baking sections have no materials to work on. Which limitation of division of labor does this scenario illustrate?

  1. The high degree of interdependence among sequential production stagesAnswer
  2. B
    The onset of diminishing marginal returns in short-run production
  3. C
    Geographical localization of industrial manufacturing enterprises
  4. D
    An increase in average fixed cost as total output expands

Answer

The high degree of interdependence among sequential production stages
When a firm implements division of labor, each specialized department depends completely on the output of the preceding department. A breakdown in one stage halts all subsequent operations, demonstrating the risk of extreme interdependency.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the production disruption scenario
Identify that downstream workers (kneading, baking) cannot perform their duties because an upstream stage (mixing) stopped.
Division of labor breaks a complex process into interdependent steps.
2
Evaluate economic concepts related to division of labor limitations
Recognize that extreme specialization makes the entire plant vulnerable to bottlenecks and equipment failures at any single stage.
Mutual dependence across specialized departments means a failure in one department halts the whole chain.

Key Concept

Interdependence in Division of Labor
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Topics

Division of Labor and Specialization

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