In a short essay, discuss the impact that the publication of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations had on management

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: In Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith argued, among other things, that the division of labor that took place in factories in which large, complex job tasks were broken down into small, repetitive actions would result in dramatic increases in productivity. This productivity would, in turn, bring new wealth to the countries that could employ this system of production.

Smith's prediction turned out to be only partly true as division of labor was discovered to have drawbacks. Though division of labor initially increased productivity, that increase tended to fade as workers, bogged down in repetitive tasks, lost morale and motivation to put out maximum effort.