Learning Curves in Manufacturing

Large increases in productivity are typically realized as organizations gain experience in production. These "learning curves" have been found in many organizations. Organizations vary considerably in the rates at which they learn. Some organizations show remarkable productivity gains, whe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1990-02, Vol.247 (4945), p.920-924
Main Authors: Argote, Linda, Epple, Dennis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capital costs
Commercial production
Depreciation
Economies of scale
Experience curves
Labor productivity
Learning
Learning by doing
Learning curves
Learning rate
Management
Manufacturing industries
Manufacturing industry
Organizational behavior
Productivity
Unit costs
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Summary:Large increases in productivity are typically realized as organizations gain experience in production. These "learning curves" have been found in many organizations. Organizations vary considerably in the rates at which they learn. Some organizations show remarkable productivity gains, whereas others show little or no learning. Reasons for the variation observed in organizational learning curves include organizational "forgetting," employee turnover, transfer of knowledge from other products and other organizations, and economies of scale.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.247.4945.920