Differentiation means the process of becoming or making something different. Differentiation involves a process of disintegration, the dividing up of an integrated system into more specialized subsystems. Through the process of differentiation what was originally a homogenous system becomes heterogeneous as its constituent subsystems come to form their own identity and structural features that are distinct from each other. Differentiation enables specialization. The formation of separate individual subsystems enables those components to focus more intensely on a particular function or activity. Thus allowing them to become more efficient at this activity than if they had to perform a large number of diverse activities.
