- What task did you use division of labor and specialization to accomplish?
As seniors at my high school, we were responsible for setting up international day. My senior class was only approximately thirty people, and we each got paired up to decorate a classroom around a particular country. Once we were assigned a country and a classroom, we had the clean and rearrange the classroom, as well as assist the parents that were bringing the food and decorations for that country. I got paired up with a girl named Shama, and we were in charge of decorating the choir room to represent the United Kingdom. Somebody had to vacuum, and somebody had to go around to the teachers and collect materials to make decorations.
- Who had a comparative advantage? Who had an absolute advantage? Explain how these advantages helped determine the divison of labor.
Before we started cleaning and decorating, we talked about how to get it done as efficiently as possible. It would take me about 10 minutes to vacuum the whole classroom and rearrange the tables. It would take Shama about 1 extra minute to do the same. She was also new at the school and didn't know her way around the building. One of us had to go around to various classrooms and collect decorating materials. As Shama didn't know where to go, it would take her about 15 minutes to collect enough supplies. Since I knew where each classroom was, it would probably only take me about 7 minutes. While I could clean the room slightly quicker than Shama, and I could definitely gather decorations quicker, she specialized in cleaning while I specialized in gathering decorations. I had an absolute advantage over Shama in collecting supplies to decorate, since it took me less time (the input) to complete the task. Shama had the comparative advantage in vacuuming and rearranging the tables, while I had the comparative advantage in gathering supplies. So, in order to complete the tasks most efficiently, she cleaned the classroom while I collected decorations.
- Reflect on how the work to complete the task would have gone without specialization, or "trade," of labor.
Without specialization, or trade of labor, it would have taken us longer to clean and decorate, and we would have less free time to study for our upcoming exams. As it was, it took us 11 minutes to compete the tasks. However, if I had cleaned and Shama had collected supplies, it would have taken us 15 minutes. I had the comparative advantage in gathering supplies, while Shama had the comparative advantage in cleaning. If we had each done the opposite tasks, not only would it have taken longer, but it would be much less efficient.
