Does Technology Enhance or Restrict Productivity?

摘要

A review of economic history indicates that humans have successfully produced more of the goods and services they require the most. It was Adam Smith who in 1776, first recognised that the role played by specialisation and the division of labour as the prime means of achieving economic growth. Smith correctly saw that the division of labour would improve productivity when he defined the three advantages: workers perfected specific skills; they avoided the delay and distraction of switching from one task to another; and they would use or even invent specialised equipment to improve the efficiency of the task. Today, many workers especially clerical, would not fit easily into Adam Smith's picture of three specific skills. Most of us do not use specialised equipment: we use computers capable of doing a multitude of things from accountancy to instant messaging by email, letter writing etc. Most office tasks do not have a clear production flow; they are a mish mash of tasks and activities.