What are some managerial considerations when using learning curves?

What will be an ideal response?

Although learning curves can be useful tools for operations planning, managers should keep several things in mind when using them. First, an estimate of the learning rate is necessary in order to use learning curves, and it may be difficult to get. Using industry averages can be risky because the type of work and competitive niches can differ from firm to firm. The learning rate depends on factors such as process complexity and the rate of capital additions. Learning curves are dynamic because they are affected by various factors. For example, a short service or product life cycle means that firms may not enjoy the flat portion of the learning curve for very long before the service or product is changed or a new one is introduced. In addition, organizations utilizing team approaches will have different learning rates than they had before they introduced teams. Total quality management and continual improvement programs also will affect learning curves. Finally, managers should always keep in mind that learning curves are only approximations of actual experience.