The Battle.
In world wars I and II the allied junior officers were readily transferred from unit to unit. The German junior officers remained much longer in the lower ranks and also within the same units. The German officer corps also spent significantly more time training in the art of war. In over 60 quantitative studies of World War II battles examination the combat effectiveness given the comparable equipment, the results indicated that German soldiers were 2.5 times more combat effective that the Soviets, and 1.2 times more effective than the American, Canadian, and British Soldiers. The difference was not because of a master race but rather because of a higher degree of military professionalism and organizational learning. They were imbued with a strong military culture.
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So what can we learn from this? We must not be myopic when viewing global, cultural, and societal differences. We cannot enter the global marketplace ignorant of the cross-cultural sensitivity. Canadian Businesses must develop a higher degree of cultural sensitivity and organizational learning. If we fail to develop cultural sensitivity and literacy, there will be disagreement, mutual frustration, and less success in our ventures.
