Question

If a factory produces 100 TV sets per year, each TV will be quite expensive to make. However, if a factory produces 20,000 TV sets each year, then it can set up an assembly line with huge machines and workers performing specialized tasks, and the average cost of production per TV will be lower. What is this an example of?
(A) specialization
(B) division of labor
(C) productivity
(D) economies of scale

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer is D: economies of scale

Explanation:

Economies of scale are the diminished cost by companies when production becomes efficient.  Companies can achieve economies of scale by increasing production and lowering costs. This happens because fixed costs are spread over a larger number of goods. There are implications in variable costs as well (for example in obtaining discounts by large purchases from suppliers). In general, the larger the scale, the more cost savings.

The cost per unit depends on how much the company produces. Larger companies can produce more by spreading the cost of production over a larger amount of goods. Specialization of labor and more integrated technology boost production volumes. Lower per-unit costs can come from bulk orders from suppliers, larger advertising buys, or lower cost of capital. Spreading internal function (for ex: accounting, information technology, and marketing) costs across more units produced and sold helps to reduce costs.