MBA - HRM Blog 5
Practical Application of Learning Curve
for an Organization
The Theory of Learning Curve
Organizational learning is a continuous process that impacts
individual learning within the organization. Learning curve theory can be used to
identify the changes of individual performance during their learning period.
Accordingly, the learning curve is the visual depiction of the production
efficiency of an organization during a certain period
Pros and Cons of the Learning Curve for Organizations
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Help
for the organizational strategic planning process to enhance employee
performance. |
Merely
depending on the learning curve to determine employee performance and
improvement needs is ineffective as learning can be impacted by several
factors such as experience, individual ability and motivation, quality of
learning activities etc. |
|
Inspiring
employees by promoting a learning culture. |
Hard to
quantify and measure all type of employee performance. |
|
Helps
to determine individual learning trends to make decisions and forecast the
future. |
Learning
curve is incomplete to predict the entire organizational performance and it
is essential to use combined methods to determine individual performance. |
(Source: Wang & Lee,
2001)
Types of Learning Curves
I.
Diminishing- Return Learning Curve
The performance increases rapidly at the initial stage and
then reduces over a period. This is applicable with easy tasks to learn for
employees and performance increases rapidly at the beginning
Figure 1 - Diminishing- Return Learning Curve (Source: Quan, 2021)
I.
Increasing -Returns Learning Curve
The performance is low at the beginning and gradually
increases over period until employees obtained the full knowledge. This curve
is applicable for learning complex task within organizations
Figure 2 -Increasing- Return Learning Curve (Source: Quan, 2021)
I.
Increasing- Decreasing Returns of Learning Curve
(S Curve)
The initial stage of the curve shows less performance as
employees are new to the tasks and then employees tend to proficient in tasks
gradually and the end part of the curve emphasizes increasing employee
performance
Figure 3 – Increasing- Diminishing Return Learning Curve (Source: Quan, 2021)
Significance and Application of Learning Curve
The learning curve is largely contributed to organizations identifying whether workers and procedures are performing effectively with organizational
resources and identifying the improvement needs. Organizations can identify
employees’ performance levels through the shape of the learning curve such as
increasing, decreasing, stagnation or fluctuation. Then, an organization can
understand the future performance of the organization and get decisions
regarding employee performance and learning based on the curve
Conclusion
Learning curve theory can be applied within organizations to
identify employee performance and development needs to achieve future
performance and it leads to get better organizational decisions about employee
and organizational performance.
References
Anzanello, M. J. & Fogliatto, F. S., 2011.
Learning curve models and applications: Literature review and research
directions. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 41(5), pp.
573-583.
Argote, L. &
Kane, A. A., 2003. Learning from direct and indirect experience in
organizations. Group creativity: Innovation through collaboration, p.
277.
Dar-EL, E. M., 2013. Human
learning: From learning curves to learning organizations. s.l.:Springer
Science & Business Media.
Musali, S., Schulze,
w. S. & De Castro, J. O., 2021. How Long Does It Take to Get to the
Learning Curve?.. Academy of Management Journal, 63(1), pp. 205-223.
Wang, F. K. &
Lee, W., 2001. Learning curve analysis in total productive maintenance. Omega,
29(6), pp. 491-499.
It is a useful model for tracking progress, learning curve theory is a way to understand employee performance improvement or investment over time. improve productivity and ensure that company
ReplyDeleteachieves certain operational goals.Thanks for sharing.
This is very much helpful to adapting the organization culture & breathing time for handling as well.it ‘s a one kind of method for increasing the employees satisfaction & performance.
ReplyDeleteOther than three learning curves you have mentioned, the fourth type is Complex learning curve. This model represents a more complex pattern of learning and reflects more extensive tracking.
ReplyDeleteThis is a valuable topic. Because The learning curve indicates that performance improves with each iteration of the task. Organization that use the learning curve concept have several advantages.
ReplyDeleteUseful article. Organization can understand the employee performance from the learning curves and it shows direction to take the necessary actions. Interesting blog with good explanation. Thanks for the sharing.
ReplyDeleteVery important subject, structured way of applying learning needs and addressing. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteUseful topic to be discussed. It's reflects the individuals track records and forcasting future performance to some extent. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOrganizational learning is important to improve knowledge of employees. Organizational learning should be done in order to create a better working environment and improve the performances of employees.
ReplyDeleteDear Thushara , a very well structured and a graphical analysis on Learning and Learning curves. LCs are considered as effective tools for monitoring the performance of employees exposed to a new task and I agree that Learning Curves provide a mathematical representation of the learning process that takes place as task repetition occurs. A very good article Thushara !
ReplyDeleteWhile the term "learning curve" came into use in the early 20th century, Dr. Hermann Ebbinghaus described this theory as early as 1885. A learning curve is a correlation between a learner's performance on a task and the number of attempts or time required to complete the task; this can be represented as a direct proportion on a graph. You have mention some point of pros & cons. thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete