Labor, machines, factories, land, and natural resources make goods or perform services {production, economics}. Businesses {producer} supply goods or services. Households demand and consume products.
To produce consumer goods and services {output, economics}| {economic output}, businesses must use production units. Production units make goods or services.
Automation {technology} can result in greater production at less cost, with less labor and higher paying jobs.
In many tasks, capital can substitute for labor {automation}|, resulting in greater production at less cost, with less labor but higher paying jobs.
Mass production makes each good the same way {standardization}|, which allows interchangeable parts.
Goods and services {factor of production} {production factor}| {productive resource} can be for business production. Labor is a production factor.
Business assets {capital, business}| can be actual equipment {real capital}, existing capital {capital stock}, or money {money capital} that can be for investment. Businesses add new capital each period {capital flow}. Capital has a percentage return per year on cost {marginal revenue product, capital}. Investment in capital is wise if capital marginal revenue product is higher than interest rate. Ideally, interest rate equals national capital average marginal revenue product.
Produced goods {capital good}| can be production factors. Goods and services, such as education, can be both capital and consumer goods.
Good or service production factors can produce other goods or services that have value {opportunity cost}|. If all markets are working correctly, actual good or service cost equals opportunity cost. If costs are different, market makes more low-cost good, its price decreases, other-good price increases, and finally prices and costs are equal. If two costs are equal, true good-or-service value is price.
To produce consumer goods and services, businesses must use labor, capital, land, and natural-resource coordinated sets {production unit}|.
Land and raw materials {natural resource}| can be production factors. Raw materials can be production factors if process requires them, they require discovery, and/or they require extraction. Abundant and easily available natural resources are not production factors. Producers typically waste them.
Production means are natural resources, land, labor, and capital and have limited amounts {scarcity}|. Therefore, making goods or services prevents making something else.
Jobs {labor} are essential to workers, but employers actually do not need that particular worker.
competition
Economies typically have surplus labor. Employers can hire and fire at will. Employer agreements can restrict competition for labor. Workers typically have limited knowledge of other available jobs. Governments and non-profit agencies can create job clearinghouses {unemployment office}. Governments, businesses, and non-profit agencies provide vocational training.
compensation
Manual laborers, semi-skilled workers, and skilled workers usually get wages. Managers and white-collar workers usually get weekly, monthly, or yearly salaries. Professionals get fees for services.
rules
Jobs have work rules, such as break times, regular hours, overtime rules, retirement, and temporary layoff periods. Jobs also have safety rules, promotion policies, and grievance procedures.
benefits
Many companies provide benefits, such as health insurance, eye insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, and accident insurance. Other benefits are vacations, sick leave, and bereavement leave.
labor problems
Problems with work are boredom, powerlessness, no craft, meaninglessness, isolation, and alienation.
Besides physical conditions, work-group structure and supervision style affect productivity {human relations movement}.
Workers can unite into organizations {union, worker}|. Unions participate in collective bargaining, politics, and labor-force control and strive for job protection, equal justice, better wages, and better working conditions. Law allows laborer associations. Large unions can have local branches {local union}. Unions {industrial union} can be industry-wide. Unions {trade union} can be for specialized workers.
Unions can deduct union dues from paychecks in advance {checkoff}|.
Union representatives and management representatives negotiate contract between labor and management {collective bargaining}|.
Daily gatherings {shape-up} of unionized longshoremen allow boss to choose that day's workers.
States can allow open shop, using laws {right-to-work law}| that guarantee open shops.
States can require unionized businesses to hire only union members {union shop}| {closed shop}.
States can allow businesses to hire any worker {open shop}|.
States allow workers to refuse to work {strike, worker}| without being fired, for just cause. Workers have right to refuse to work until they have better conditions.
Workers can strike {wildcat strike} {walkout} without union authorization.
Businesses can hire non-union members {scab, strikebreaker}| {strikebreaker}, to work in place of striking workers to try to break strike.
regular absence {absenteeism}|.
Work can have no useful result {boondoggle}.
vocation {calling}.
temporary no work and no pay periods {layoff}|.
Worker time {leisure} can be not on production.
Businesses can refuse to let workers work {lockout}|.
Businesses can have favoritism toward relatives {nepotism}|.
In hierarchies, employees rise until they reach jobs that they are unable to do {Peter Principle}.
promotion {preferment}|.
employment length {seniority}|.
Jobs have motions that take time {time-and-motion study}.
Switching jobs {turnover, job}| happens often in modern business.
job {vocation}.
termination notice {walking papers}.
Unfinished goods can move on conveyor belts or movable platforms {assembly line}|, where workers can add parts.
Automatic product flow {continuous process technology}| needs only maintenance and repair, with little labor.
Local governments can require citizens to perform needed tasks, such as repairing roads, for small or no compensation {corvée}. Labor can substitute for paying tax. Feudal-estate lords had the right to require vassals to work free for one day.
Hand-made goods {craftwork}| use labor less efficiently.
Governments can confiscate objects. Navies can make people work in navy by force {impressment}|.
People can choose to have more income by working at two or more jobs at once {moonlighting}|.
People can receive pay for items {piecework}| {piece good}.
skill in trade {practical art}.
People can work at night or evening {swing shift}|.
People can work hours on two different shifts {split shift}|.
compensation {emolument}.
tip {gratuity}.
lecture fee {honorarium}|.
People who arrange transactions can get part {kickback}| of profits.
Most states require minimum hourly wage {minimum wage}|.
Presenters can receive payment {payola}| to present someone's work.
bribe {rake-off}.
Managers and white-collar workers usually get weekly, monthly, or yearly pay {salary}.
service payment {stipend}|.
Value {valuable consideration} can exchange for performing contract.
Manual laborers, semi-skilled workers, and skilled workers usually get hourly pay {wage}.
Investments {annuity}| can pay investor regularly after maturity.
Businesses can pay expenses using account {expense account}|.
Most companies pay for insurance, vacations, and so on {fringe benefit}|.
People can get permitted absence from work for long period {leave}|.
Many companies pay workers after retirement {pension}|.
Employers can pay money {severance pay}| when terminating employees.
Governments often pay unemployed people until they find a job {unemployment compensation}|.
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Date Modified: 2022.0225