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Piece work or piecework describes types of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced or action performed. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... In classical economics and all micro-economics labour is one of three factors of production, the others being land and capital. ...

In a manufacturing setting, the output of piece work can be measured by the number of physical items (pieces) produced, such as when a garment worker is paid per seam completed, regardless of the time required. (See also List of types of clothing) Introduction Humans often wear articles of clothing (also known as dress, garments or attire) on the body (for the alternative, see nudity). ...

In a service setting, the output of piece work can be measured by the number of operations completed, as when a telemarketer is paid by the number of calls made or completed, regardless of the outcome of the calls (pay for only certain positive outcomes is more likely to be called a sales commission or incentive pay). Telemarketing is a form of direct marketing where a salesperson uses the telephone to solicit prospective customers to sell products or services. ...

As a term and as a common form of labor, 'piece work' had its origins in the guild system of work during the Commercial Revolution and before the Industrial Revolution. Since the phrase 'piece work' first appears in writing around the year 1549, it is likely that at about this time, the master craftsmen of the guild system began to assign their apprentices work on pieces which could be performed at home, rather than within the master's workshop. In the English System of manufacturing, workers mass-produced parts from a fixed design as part of a division of labor, but did not have the advantage of machine tools or metalworking jigs. Simply counting the number of pieces produced by a worker was likely easier than accounting for that worker's time, as would have been required for the computation of an hourly wage. A guild is an association of people of the same trade or pursuits (with a similar skill or craft), formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards of morality or conduct. ... The Commercial Revolution was a period of European economic expansion, colonialism, and mercantilism which lasted from approximately 1520 until 1650. ... A Watt steam engine in Madrid. ... Events July - Ketts Rebellion Francis Xavier arrives in Japan. ... // History A master craftsman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster) was a member of a guild. ... Division of labour is the breakdown of labour into specific, circumscribed tasks for maximum efficiency of output in the context of manufacturing. ... A machine tool is a powered mechanical device, typically used to fabricate metal components of machines by the selective removal of metal. ... Turned chess pieces Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create parts or structures. ... A wage is the amount of money paid for some specified quantity of labour. ...

Piece work took on new importance with the advent of machine tools, such as the machine lathe in 1751 and the sewing machine in 1755. Such machines made possible the American System of manufacturing (attributed to Eli Whitney) in 1799 in which workers could truly make just a single part--but make many copies of it--for later assembly by others. The reality of the earlier English System had been that handcrafted pieces rarely fit together on the first try, and a single artisan was ultimately required to rework all parts of a finished good. By the early 1800s, the accuracy of machine tools meant that piecework parts were produced fully ready for final assembly. Conventional metalworking lathe In woodturning, metalworking, metal spinning, and glassworking, a lathe is a machine tool which spins a block of material so that when abrasive, cutting, or deformation tools are applied to the block, it can be shaped to produce an object which has rotational symmetry about an axis... Events Adam Smith is appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow March 25 - For the last time, New Years Day is legally on March 25 in England and Wales. ... A modern machine (Singer Symphonie 300) A sewing machine is a mechanical (or electromechanical) device that joins fabric using thread. ... 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The American system of manufacturing, developed by Eli Whitney in 1799, involves semi-skilled labour using machine tools and templates (or jigs) to make standardized, identical, interchangeable parts, manufactured to a tolerance. ... Eli Whitney Eli Whitney (December 8, 1765 - January 8, 1825) was an American inventor and manufacturer. ... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...