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Secondary Activities Notes - Class 12 - Humanities Fundamentals of Human Geography

Secondary Activities

All economic activities, from farming to banking, are about using resources to meet our needs. Secondary activities are the next step after primary activities (like farming or mining). They take natural resources and transform them into more valuable, finished products. This process of transformation is what adds value.

Example

Think about cotton. A cotton boll picked from a plant has limited use. But once it's processed into yarn and then woven into cloth, its value increases dramatically. Similarly, iron ore dug from the ground isn't very useful until it's converted into steel, which can then be used to make cars, tools, and machines.

Secondary activities include manufacturing, processing, and construction (like building roads and bridges).

MANUFACTURING

Manufacturing is the process of turning raw materials into finished goods for sale. This can range from simple handicrafts made at home to complex operations like building a space vehicle.

The core characteristics of modern manufacturing are:

Application of power: Using energy to run machines.
Mass production: Making large quantities of identical products.
Specialised labour: Workers are trained to do one specific task repeatedly in a factory.

The word "manufacturing" literally means "to make by hand," which reflects its origins. Today, however, it almost always involves machines.

Conceptually, an industry is a specific manufacturing unit located in one place, with its own management and records. However, we often use the term more broadly, as in the "steel industry" or "chemical industry," to refer to the entire sector. To be clear, the text uses the term ‘manufacturing industry’.

Characteristics of Modern Large Scale Manufacturing

Modern, large-scale manufacturing has several distinct features that set it apart from older methods.

Specialisation of Skills/Methods of Production

Craft Method: This is an older style where factories produce only a few, custom-made items. Because each item is unique and made-to-order, the costs are very high.
Mass Production: This is the modern approach. It involves making large quantities of standardised parts. Each worker performs only one simple, repetitive task, which increases speed and lowers costs.

Mechanisation

Mechanisation simply means using machines or gadgets to perform tasks. The most advanced stage of this is automation, where the manufacturing process happens without direct human thinking or control. Modern factories use computer-controlled systems and machines that are developed to "think" and adjust on their own.

Technological Innovation

To stay competitive, modern industries rely heavily on technological innovation. Through research and development (R&D), companies find new ways to:

Control the quality of their products.
Eliminate waste and inefficiency.
Combat pollution.

Organisational Structure and Stratification

Modern manufacturing is complex. It requires:

Advanced machine technology.
A high degree of specialisation and division of labour.
Huge amounts of capital (money).
Large organisations with an executive bureaucracy to manage everything.

The goal is to produce more goods with less effort and at a lower cost.

Uneven Geographic Distribution

Modern manufacturing is not spread evenly across the globe. It is highly concentrated in a few places, covering less than 10% of the world's land area. These regions have become the world's centres of economic and political power.

Note

Manufacturing sites are much more concentrated than agricultural land. For example, a 2.5 sq km area in the American corn belt might support four large farms with 10-20 workers. That same amount of land could contain several large factories employing thousands of workers.

Why do Large-scale Industries choose different locations?

The main goal of any industry is to maximise profit by keeping costs as low as possible. Therefore, they choose locations where production costs are at a minimum. Several factors influence this decision.

Access to Market

A market is not just a place, but people who have a demand for goods and the money to buy them. This is the most important factor.

Developed regions like Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia are large global markets because people there have high purchasing power.
Densely populated regions in South and South-east Asia also provide large markets.
Some industries, like aircraft and arms manufacturing, have a global market.

Access to Raw Material

Industries that use cheap, bulky, and weight-losing raw materials (where the final product is lighter than the raw material) tend to locate close to the source.

Examples: Steel, sugar, and cement industries are often located near their raw material sources.
Perishability is also key. Agro-processing and dairy industries are located close to farms to prevent spoilage.

Access to Labour Supply

While increasing automation has reduced the dependence on labour, it remains an important factor, especially for industries that require skilled workers.

Access to Sources of Energy

Industries that consume a lot of power, like the aluminium industry, are located close to energy sources. Historically, coal was the main source, but today hydroelectricity and petroleum are also crucial.

Access to Transportation and Communication Facilities

Industries need efficient transport to bring in raw materials and ship out finished goods.

Regions with highly developed transport systems, like Western Europe and eastern North America, have always attracted industries.
Good communication systems are also vital for managing information and operations.

Government Policy

Governments often use regional policies to encourage industries to set up in certain areas to promote balanced economic development across the country.

Access to Agglomeration Economies/ Links between Industries

Industries often benefit from being located close to each other. These benefits are called agglomeration economies. When industries are clustered together, they can share services, infrastructure, and a skilled labour pool, which helps reduce costs.

Foot Loose Industries

Foot loose industries are not tied to any specific location. They are not dependent on a particular raw material.

They largely use component parts that can be sourced from anywhere.
They produce in small quantities and employ a small labour force.
They are generally not polluting.
The most important factor for their location is accessibility by a road network.

Classification of Manufacturing Industries

Industries can be classified based on their size, the raw materials they use (inputs), their final products (outputs), and their ownership.

Industries based on Size

Size is determined by the amount of capital invested, the number of workers, and the volume of production.

HOUSEHOLD INDUSTRIES OR COTTAGE MANUFACTURING

This is the smallest type of manufacturing unit.

Artisans use local raw materials and simple tools.
Work is done at home with family members.
Products are often for personal use or for sale in local village markets.
Examples: Making pottery, weaving baskets, making furniture, or crafting jewellery from gold and silver.

Small Scale Manufacturing

This is a step up from cottage industries.

It takes place in a workshop outside the home.
It uses local raw materials, simple power-driven machines, and semi-skilled labour.
It is crucial for providing employment and raising local purchasing power in developing countries like India, China, and Brazil.

Large Scale Manufacturing

This type of manufacturing requires:

A large market for its products.
Various raw materials.
Enormous energy supply.
Specialised workers and advanced technology.
Assembly-line mass production and large amounts of capital.

This system developed over the last 200 years, starting in the U.K., north-eastern U.S.A., and Europe. Today, major industrial regions are of two types:

Traditional large-scale industrial regions: Densely clustered in developed countries.
High-technology large scale industrial regions: More widespread, having diffused to less developed countries as well.

Industries based on Inputs/Raw Materials

Agro based Industries

These industries process raw materials from agriculture.

Examples: Food processing (canning, fruit juices), sugar, pickles, beverages (tea, coffee), textiles (cotton, jute, silk), and rubber.
Agri-business is related to this. It refers to commercial farming on an industrial scale, often run like a large corporation. These "agro-factories" are large, mechanised, and highly structured.

Mineral based Industries

These industries use minerals as their raw material.

Ferrous minerals: Industries using iron, such as iron and steel.
Non-ferrous minerals: Industries using other metals like aluminium, copper, and those for jewellery.
Non-metallic minerals: Industries like cement and pottery.

Chemical based Industries

These industries use natural chemical minerals or materials derived from other sources.

Examples: The petrochemical industry uses mineral oil (petroleum). Other industries use salt, sulphur, and potash. Synthetic fibre and plastics are made from raw materials obtained from wood and coal.

Forest based Raw Material using Industries

These industries rely on products from forests.

Examples: Timber for the furniture industry, wood and bamboo for the paper industry, and lac for lac industries.

Animal based Industries

These industries use animal products as raw materials.

Examples: Leather for the leather industry, wool for woollen textiles, and ivory from elephant tusks.

Industries Based On Output/Product

Industries can also be classified by what they produce.

Basic Industries: These industries produce goods that are used as raw materials by other industries. [!example] An iron and steel industry is a basic industry. It produces steel, which is then used by another industry to make machines. Those machines might then be used in a textile factory to make clothes for consumers.
Consumer Goods Industries: These are also called non-basic industries. They produce goods that are consumed directly by people. [!example] Industries that make bread, biscuits, tea, soap, paper, and televisions are all consumer goods industries.

INDUSTRIES BASED ON OWNERSHIP

Public Sector Industries

These are owned and managed by governments. In countries with socialist economies, many industries are state-owned. Mixed economies have both public and private sectors.

Private Sector Industries

These are owned by individual investors or private organisations. In capitalist countries, most industries are privately owned.

Joint Sector Industries

These are managed by joint stock companies or are established and managed by a partnership between the private and public sectors.

Concept of High Technology Industry

High technology, or high-tech, is the latest generation of manufacturing.

It is defined by intensive research and development (R&D), leading to advanced scientific and engineering products.
The workforce consists of a large share of highly skilled professional workers (white collar) who outnumber the actual production workers (blue collar).
Examples: Robotics on assembly lines, computer-aided design (CAD), and the development of new chemical and pharmaceutical products.

The physical landscape of high-tech industry is different from traditional industry. Instead of massive factories, you see neatly spaced, modern, low-rise buildings that are a mix of office, plant, and lab space, often located in planned business parks.

Technopolies are regions where high-tech industries are concentrated. They are self-sustained and highly specialised.

Examples: Silicon Valley near San Francisco and Silicon Forest near Seattle in the U.S.A. are famous technopolies.

Chapter Notes