本章的key message：亞當(dāng)·斯密如何改善經(jīng)濟(jì)的法寶手段作瞄。

職業(yè)分工最早是由18世紀(jì)的蘇格蘭哲學(xué)家和經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家亞當(dāng)·史密斯發(fā)現(xiàn)的茶宵。

史密斯認(rèn)識(shí)到，社會(huì)上不再有一個(gè)家庭專門烘烤面包宗挥，而另一個(gè)家庭建造房屋等等乌庶。 現(xiàn)在，個(gè)人專注于一項(xiàng)特定任務(wù)契耿，并在一個(gè)社區(qū)中執(zhí)行瞒大。

史密斯曾預(yù)測(cè)，擁有高度專業(yè)化勞動(dòng)力的國(guó)家將非常有效率搪桂，并成為世界上最富有的國(guó)家透敌，這是對(duì)的。 但是他也意識(shí)到了其中的危險(xiǎn)：許多工人會(huì)覺得自己像是機(jī)器上的齒輪踢械，而看不到他們個(gè)人貢獻(xiàn)的意義酗电。

因此，史密斯為管理人員和首席執(zhí)行官提供了一些明智的建議：確保員工了解情況内列，并了解他們的個(gè)人貢獻(xiàn)對(duì)企業(yè)整體成功的重要性撵术。

Adam Smith shows us some keys to improving the capitalist economy.

If you’re making small talk at a party, there’s a good chance you could end up confounded if you ask someone what their job is. You might scratch your head, wondering, what exactly does a logistics supply manager do?

The reason behind these confusing job titles isn’t some new trend. It’s actually the result of job specialization – an occurrence that was first identified by the eighteenth-century Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith.

In fact, much of what Smith observed those many years ago is still relevant today, but his insights into the benefits and potential dangers of job specialization are particularly noteworthy.

Smith recognized that societies no longer had one family in the community baking the bread, and another family building the houses and so on. Individuals were now specializing in one specific task, like bricklaying, and performing it for the whole community.

The important part of Smith’s observation, however, was that this new development had both ups and downs.

Smith was right when he predicted that nations with highly specialized workforces would be extremely efficient and become the richest in the world. But he also recognized the danger in this: many workers would feel like they’d become a cog in the machine and lose sight of how their individual contribution is meaningful.

Remarkably, Smith’s centuries-old insight continues to play out today. Modern economies are creating more wealth than ever before, while many find their jobs tedious, if not meaningless. A company could have 100,000 employees spread across several continents, each working on different parts of a project, with no understanding of how their efforts fit into the finished product.

This is why Smith has some sage advice for managers and CEOs: make sure your workers are well-informed and that they understand how their individual contribution is important to the overall success of the enterprise.

Smith was also a champion of capitalism, as long as the profits found their way back into important social programs.

By the eighteenth century, consumer capitalism was already coming under criticism for the amount of money and labor being spent on superficial things like luxury fur coats and high-end snuff boxes. Plenty of people had a problem reconciling these things alongside the poor people who were starving in the streets.

But Smith defended the capitalist system and reminded people that it could work for everyone as long as the surplus wealth was used for programs that offered social support to the most needy members of society. As Smith saw it, mink coats and silver-plated snuff boxes were all a part of how hospitals and schools got funded.

Smith also offered insight into how the system could be improved by emphasizing the benefits of meaningful products and beneficial services that help people, such as psychotherapy. This way, the nation’s prosperity – as well as its citizens’ mental well-being – are cared for.