Learning Curves
Theory, Models, and Applications
Systems Innovation Book Series

Written by international contributors, Learning Curves: Theory, Models, and Applications first draws a learning map that shows where learning is involved within organizations, then examines how it can be sustained, perfected, and accelerated. The book reviews empirical findings in the literature in terms of different sources for learning and partial assessments of the steps that make up the actual learning process inside the learning curve.

Traditionally, books on learning curves have focused either on cost accounting or production planning and control. In these books, the learning curve has been treated as a forecasting tool. This book synthesizes current research and presents a clear picture of organizational learning curves. It explores how organizations improve other measures of organizational performance including quality, inventory, and productivity, then looks inside the learning curve to determine the actual processes through which organizations learn.

Learning Curves - Literature Review and Future Research Directions. Inside the Learning Curve: Opening Up the Black Box of the Learning Curve. The Learning-Quality Relationship. Forgetting Curves: A Review. Learning and Forgetting: A Conceptual Framework. The Organizational Learning Curve. The Learning Organization at the Steady State. Inventory Management and the Learning Curve. Work Assignment in Mass Customized Production Lines Based on Learning Curves. Industrial Work Measurement and Improvement Through Multivariate Learning Curves. Timing Software Upgrades to Maximize Productivity: A Decision Analysis Model Based on the Learning Curve. Learning Curves in Project Management: The Case of a Troubled Implementation. Learning and Thinking Systems. Learning Curves for the Assessment of Energy Technologies.

Mohamad Y Jaber is a Professor (effective 01 September 2008) of Industrial Engineering at Ryerson University. He obtained his Ph.D. in Manufacturing and Operations Management from the University of Nottingham, UK.