Internal And External Economies Of Scale :: Economics

Internal And External Economies Of Scale When a company reduces costs and increases production, internal economies of scale have been achieved. External economies of scale occur outside of a firm, within an industry. Thus, when an industry's scope of operations expand due to for example the creation of a better transportation network, resulting in a subsequent decrease in cost for a company working within that industry, external economies of scale are said to have been achieved. With external ES, all firms within the industry will benefit. Economies Of Scale In addition to specialization and the division of labor, within any company there are various inputs that may result in the production of a good and/or service: * Lower input costs: when a company buys inputs in bulk, say for example potatoes used to make French fries at a fast food chain; it can take advantage of volume discounts. (In turn, the farmer from which sold the potatoes could also be achieving ES if the farm has lowered its average input costs through, for example, buying fertilizer in bulk at a volume discount). * Costly inputs: some inputs, such as research and development, advertising, managerial expertise and skilled labor are expensive, but because of the possibility of increased efficiency with such inputs, can lead to a decrease in the average cost of production and selling. If a company is able to spread the cost of such inputs over an increase in its production units, ES can be realized. Thus, if the fast food chain chooses to spend more money on technology to eventually increase efficiency by lowering the average cost of hamburger assembly, it would also have to increase the number of hamburgers it produces a year in order to cover the increased technology expenditure. * Specialized inputs: as the scale of production of a company increases, a company can employ the use of specialized labor and machinery resulting in greater efficiency. This is because workers would be better qualified for a specific job, for example someone who only makes French fries, and would no longer be spending extra time learning to do work not within their specialization (making hamburgers or taking a customer's order). Machinery, such as a dedicated French fry maker, would also have a longer life as it would not have to be over and/or improperly used. * Techniques and Organizational inputs: with a larger scale of production, a company may also apply better organizational skills to its resources, such as a clear-cut chain of command, while improving its techniques for production and distribution. Thus, behind the counter employees at the fast food chain may be organized according to those taking in-house orders and those Internal And External Economies Of Scale :: Economics Internal And External Economies Of Scale When a company reduces costs and increases production, internal economies of scale have been achieved. External economies of scale occur outside of a firm, within an industry. Thus, when an industry's scope of operations expand due to for example the creation of a better transportation network, resulting in a subsequent decrease in cost for a company working within that industry, external economies of scale are said to have been achieved. With external ES, all firms within the industry will benefit. Economies Of Scale In addition to specialization and the division of labor, within any company there are various inputs that may result in the production of a good and/or service: * Lower input costs: when a company buys inputs in bulk, say for example potatoes used to make French fries at a fast food chain; it can take advantage of volume discounts. (In turn, the farmer from which sold the potatoes could also be achieving ES if the farm has lowered its average input costs through, for example, buying fertilizer in bulk at a volume discount). * Costly inputs: some inputs, such as research and development, advertising, managerial expertise and skilled labor are expensive, but because of the possibility of increased efficiency with such inputs, can lead to a decrease in the average cost of production and selling. If a company is able to spread the cost of such inputs over an increase in its production units, ES can be realized. Thus, if the fast food chain chooses to spend more money on technology to eventually increase efficiency by lowering the average cost of hamburger assembly, it would also have to increase the number of hamburgers it produces a year in order to cover the increased technology expenditure. * Specialized inputs: as the scale of production of a company increases, a company can employ the use of specialized labor and machinery resulting in greater efficiency. This is because workers would be better qualified for a specific job, for example someone who only makes French fries, and would no longer be spending extra time learning to do work not within their specialization (making hamburgers or taking a customer's order). Machinery, such as a dedicated French fry maker, would also have a longer life as it would not have to be over and/or improperly used. * Techniques and Organizational inputs: with a larger scale of production, a company may also apply better organizational skills to its resources, such as a clear-cut chain of command, while improving its techniques for production and distribution. Thus, behind the counter employees at the fast food chain may be organized according to those taking in-house orders and those