<P> The division of labour is the separation of tasks in any system so that participants may specialize . Individuals, organisations, and nations are endowed with or acquire specialized capabilities and either form combinations or trade to take advantage of the capabilities of others in addition to their own . Specialized capabilities may include equipment or natural resources in addition to skills and training and complex combinations of such assets are often important, as when multiple items of specialized equipment and skilled operators are used to produce a single product . The division of labour is the motive for trade and the source of economic interdependence . </P> <P> Because of the large amount of labour saved by giving workers specialized tasks in Industrial Revolution - era factories, some classical economists as well as some mechanical engineers such as Charles Babbage were proponents of division of labour . Also, having workers perform single or limited tasks eliminated the long training period required to train craftsmen, who were replaced with lesser paid but more productive unskilled workers . Historically, an increasing division of labour is associated with the growth of total output and trade, the rise of capitalism, and the increasing complexity of industrialised processes . The concept and implementation of division of labour has been observed in ancient Sumerian (Mesopotamian) culture, where assignment of jobs in some cities coincided with an increase in trade and economic interdependence . Division of labour generally also increases both producer and individual worker productivity . </P>

3. in modern society what do we mean when we refer to the division of labor