1. What is work specialization?

The division of work into tasks and sub-tasks dates back to the 18th ^e century. The specialization of work breaks down a trade into a series of steps, each carried out by a different person. Workers are thus specialized in one part of an activity, rather than mastering it as a whole.

Organizing work into separate tasks is also known as "division of labor".

This diversity of specialized skills within the company can be effectively exploited to boost operating margins.

Indeed, using a skill for elementary tasks in addition to sophisticated ones would mean making the individual work below his or her skill level, and therefore not exploiting the level of qualification for which he or she is paid.

However, although this concept of specialization...