1st Edition

Learning Curves Theory, Models, and Applications

Edited By Mohamad Y. Jaber Copyright 2011
    476 Pages 100 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    476 Pages 100 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    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.

    Theory and Models
    Learning Curves: The State of the Art and Research Directions, Flavio S. Fogliatto and Michel J. Anzanello
    Inside the Learning Curve: Opening the Black Box of the Learning Curve, Michael A. Lapré
    Learning and Thinking Systems, J. Deane Waldman and Steven A. Yourstone
    From Men and Machines to the Organizational Learning Curve, Guido Fioretti
    Management at the Flat End of the Learning Curve: An Overview of Interaction Value Analysis, Walid F. Nasrallah
    Log-linear and Non-log-linear Learning Curve Models for Production Research and Cost Estimation, Timothy L. Smunt
    Using Parameter Prediction Models to Forecast Post-Interruption Learning, Charles D. Bailey and Edward V. McIntyre
    Introduction to Half-Life Theory of Learning Curves, Adedeji B. Badiru
    Influence of Breaks in Learning on Forgetting Curves, Sverker Sikström, Mohamad Y. Jaber, and W. Patrick Neumann
    Learning and Forgetting: Implications for Workforce Flexibility in AMT Environments, Corinne M. Karuppan
    Accelerated Learning by Experimentation, Roger Bohn and Michael A. Lapré
    Linking Quality to Learning – A Review, Mehmood Khan, Mohamad Y. Jaber, and Margaret Plaza
    Latent Growth Models for Operations Management Research: A Methodological Primer, Hemant V. Kher and Jean-Philippe Laurenceau

    Applications
    The Lot Sizing Problem and the Learning Curve: A Review, Mohamad Y. Jaber and Maurice Bonney
    Learning Effects in Inventory Models with Alternative Shipment Strategies, Christoph H. Glock
    Steady State Characteristics under Processing-Time Learning and Forgetting, Sunantha Teyarachakul
    Job Scheduling in Customized Assembly Lines Affected by Workers’ Learning, Michel J. Anzanello and Flavio S. Fogliatto
    Industrial Work Measurement and Improvement through Multivariate Learning Curves, Adedeji B. Badiru
    Do Professional Services Learn, Sustain, and Transfer Knowledge? Tonya Boone, Ram Ganeshan, and Robert L. Hicks
    Learning Curves in Project Management: The Case of a "Troubled" Implementation, Margaret Plaza, Daphne Diem Truong, and Roger Chow
    Timing Software Upgrades to Maximize Productivity: A Decision Analysis Model Based on the Learning Curve, Aziz Guergachi and Ojelanki Ngwenyama
    Learning Curves for CAD Competence Building of Novice Trainees, Ramsey F. Hamade
    Developments in Interpreting Learning Curves and Applications to Energy Technology Policy, Bob van der Zwaan and Clas-Otto Wene
    Index

    Biography

    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.

    "… spot on - a lot of research has been conducted to understand learning in organizations as opposed to merely estimating a function that relates cumulative production volume to unit cost. … fills a vacuum in learning curve research in theory, modelling and applications.
    —Michael A. Lapre, Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University - Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    This is an excellent book for those persons and business and labor entities that need a concise grounding in the basics of workplace safety and health. … this book will surely be of great utility to safety and health professionals, especially to small to medium-size business owners/operators and labor leaders who may need basic information about how to meet safety and health requirements for their enterprises.
    Human and Ecological Risk Assessment