The Division of Labor: Conceptual and Methodological Issues

While Durkheim's The Division of Labor has generated a considerable body of empirical research, the multidimensional concept division of labor lacks both definitional clarity and adequate operational measures. In an attempt to rectify these problems, an open-ended definition approach for specification of the concept and a set of criteria to evaluate the validity of division of labor measures are suggested. The focus is on functional differentiation and current attempts to measure this dimension are evaluated. Theoretical distributions are employed to evaluate the adequacy of division of labor measures. Several shortcomings of the presently employed measures are noted and a statistic based on relative variation is suggested for the functional differentiation dimension of the division of labor. The division of labor is a concept that has been viewed as a chief dimension of societal complexity, a principal source of societal integration, and a critical consequence of industrialization. Durkheim saw population growth creating density, density heightening social interaction, and social interaction in turn leading to the avoidance of conflict through social diversification and the division of labor. The same variables are often used in contemporary research on urbanization and social change (for example, see Clemente and Sturgis; Gibbs and Martin; Webb). The complexity of the division of labor concept has resulted in substantial measurement problems (Clemente).