Factors of production
Among factors of production ( also Input, input factors ) refers to all tangible and intangible resources and services that are involved in the provision of goods. It is important to distinguish between economic and managerial analysis.
Factors of production in economics
The classical economics since Adam Smith considered, especially since David Ricardo, the factors of labor, capital and land. Recently, also knowledge (human capital) or running a business are often viewed as an economic factor of production. Furthermore, the energy was identified as an independent factor of production.
The term originally referred to the bottom of arable land, but was initially expanded in the course of extraction of natural resources on this. Given the increasing scarcity of resources such as air and water also from the production factor natural or environmental spoken in economics now.
Support of labor, the individual human being. Although the production of all goods has its origin in the materials of nature, but nature does not provide ready-made goods, it provides only raw materials or energy sources that must win or utilized only man. But the man has to spend working. This factor of production has a quantitative aspect ( the number of workers) and a qualitative side (the education level of the workforce ).
The factor capital is that part of the production outcome of earlier periods, which contributes to the production in the considered period. In other words, ( tangible ) capital is the physical result of the work done in the past. The economist different physical capital, also called real capital and money capital. The physical capital are produced means of production, ie for example buildings, machinery and tools. Under monetary capital is understood a sum of money. As a general medium of exchange money can be converted into physical capital through investment or alternatively be used for consumption purposes.
The factors of production are regularly limited substitutability ( replaceable). The formation of capital, for example, increase the productivity of labor. Due to the high elasticity of the production factor energy a high economic pressure is present, replace, through technical and organizational constraints on labor by the pair energy and capital.
Production factors in business administration
Whereas the individual observation requires a more accurate term for the differentiation factors of production. A classic distinction was made by Erich Gutenberg, and has almost unchanged enforced until today. It is supplemented by the two terms Repetierfaktoren and potential factors of Edmund Heinen, which was integrated in the following diagram.
Elementary factors and dispositive factors
Erich Gutenberg established the highest allocation of production factors. Human work he shares in property-related work, a (design, working on product ) and dispositive work (management, supported by planning, organizing and controlling ).
Human labor and the factors resources and materials called Gutenberg elementary aspects of commercial production process.
The dispositive factor complements the elementary factors according to Gutenberg to a productive unit. The dispositive factor is important for the optimal factor combination and forms the planning and strategic and operational use of the elementary factors in the company from. It is an intangible product, which can be substituted only to a limited extent.
Repetierfaktoren and potential factors
The elementary factors are further distinguished according to their use. If the factor is directly consumed in the process of service or converted physically or chemically, it is called Repetierfaktoren ( Heinen ) or consumption factors ( after Gutenberg ). In order to ensure continuous production, these goods must be constantly purchasing new.
Factors that are only consumed or used indirectly to the provision of services is referred to as potential or inventory factors. You are not divisible in general.
Resources
The group of resources in this scheme takes a special position since they can be assigned to the repeater as well as potential factors. Resources that serve the use, are among the potential factors and can be one hand in tangible ( land, buildings, equipment, funds ) and intangible resources (rights, licenses, patents, knowledge, information ) subdivided. In addition, a delineation of the resources that are consumed to which the so-called resource materials ( energy, fuels, lubricants and cleaning agents) belong.
When you remove the division in Bolt-Action and potential factors that supplies can be entirely assigned to the materials. A Subordinierung, which is also widely recognized and accepted.
Materials
The group of materials is divided, besides the possibility of operating substances in the groups consumables and raw materials. Raw materials in this case are an integral part of the final product, such as the timber for a wooden chair. Auxiliaries are not an integral part of the product as the wood glue for the wooden chair.
Primary and derivative factors
One of the primary factors include the elementary factors as well as the part of human labor, which in operation and management of the combination and the use of elementary factors decides ( line ).
The heads are supported by the derivative ( derived ) factors such as planning, organization and control.
In trying to grasp the basic business problems of design of optimal goods economic equilibrium and analyze the supply of factors of production plays a crucial role. In the phase of the deployment of the elementary factors, it is especially the factors of production in the required type, quality and quantity on time and provide the right place for the combination process. It is important to be careful in accordance with the economic principle that the deployment costs are minimized.
The provision has two tasks: First, the technical problem of the deployment planning. That means for a trouble-free production, production -compliance with appointments, meeting the quality standards and the like, to ensure. Second, the economic problem which is derived from the performance targets of the company.
Development and new factors
Developed by Gutenberg system is primarily designed for the production and industrial companies. With the increasing importance of the tertiary sector, that is, the advance of the service sector, the importance of the involvement of customers in the provision of services and their integration increased. Rudolf Maleri has the term coined for the external factor to the important contribution to the provision of services (active or passive) other health care provider.
Plays a special role of the time factor in trading. The nature of commercial establishments accordingly, use the rule, no materials are, the concepts of productive factors or performance factors, however, often preferred the term factor of production with them. In addition to the primary performance factors of labor, goods, space and material resources put dealerships a secondary power factors; the latter including the time factor, also known as quasi- factor of production. The best possible use of time is to be considered not only at the individual performance factors, but also on all four markets in the trading operations ( procurement, sales, market competition and internal market). Schenk has put together no less than 66 fields in which time problems must be solved because of their direct impact on the operational performance and cost situation and time management must be operated. They range from the sequence organization of inventory discrepancies, customer flow studies, store opening times, inventory turnover or discount interest rate to discount time or temporal price discrimination.
Hans -Dieter Deppe completed the production factor system Gutenberg to the monetary factor, with its two components " adhesion performance " and " performance pay " a. In his work bench operational growth (1969 ), he also describes production features of the monetary factor.
Walther Busse von Colbe and Gert Laßmann lead as a supplement Gutenberg's a public service of the State, municipalities, associations of municipalities, financial institutions and insurance companies. Helmut Kurt Weber 1980 clarified this relationship and leads the judicial system, which was previously seen as part of the production factor capital, as a separate category in the factor system.
Knowledge is increasingly establishing itself as a fourth independent factor of production, although it is at least partially covered already in Gutenberg's dispositive factor. Information is used as a resource in the power generation process. In this case, additional knowledge arise (see knowledge management). This is true at least for those information that are "consumed" by the entrance to the production, ie lose their economic value. However, it is debatable whether other types of information can be considered as a production factor.
Production factors in cost and management accounting
The main task of the cost and management accounting ( KLR ), the evidence in the consumption of related economic factors of production on the value chain in an accounting period.