I__. - International Military Testing Association

BATTLE-TASIUBATTLEBOARD TRAINING
APPLICATION PARADIGM AND RESEARCH DESIGN
John C Eggenberger PhD, Director Personnel Applied Research and Training Division,
SNC Defence Products Limited
Ronald L. Crawford PhD, Professor, Concordia University
1. Introduction
Competitive advantage occurs when one protagonist creates and exploits superior relative certainty in
an area which is uncertain or problematic within the industry. Porter, Khandwalla, Waterman & Peters,
and others have proposed typologies of ways in which one can gain competitive advantage (vie: product,
promotion, investment, scope, etc.), but they give a false impression that these represent institutional,
executive level, quantum events. The opposite, in fact, is the typical case. Quinn, Mintzberg;Crawford,
Gram, and Star, Cyert, March, Cohen, Drucker and others emphasize that competitive advantage is more
typically achieved cumulatively through successions of w ram to locally evident ambiguities,
threats, opportunities and variations. In other words, through voluntary improvisations which
people undertake on their own initiative in relation to disciplined actions.
The improvisation process has been studied extensively by members of the SNC Personnel Applied
Research (PAR)team in both military and civilian settings. It corresponds very clearly to the behavioural
theory of the firm, consisting broadly of:
� applying heuristic diagnostic and response skills;
� using experimentation to test beliefs, learn more, and influence the constellation of factors; and,
� creating uncertainty among one’s competitors.
In typical populations, psychological readiness and capacity to exercise “disciplined initiative” thence
improvise, are statistically uncommon. These populations are characteristically stabilized well before
entry to the work force, and are developed over long periods of intensive investment of time, energy, and
resources. There is substantial evidence, however, that comparable skills can be achieved by adults,
although most current examples tend to be costly and harrowing experiences for the participants. Real
or simulated equivalents of combat, for example, do produce high levels of intuitive problem solving and
experimental learning, but with significant casualty rates and considerable cost.
In this regard, the PAR team has identified the following:
� a method and content which can be employed in broad based training & development
settings to produce effective improvisations from the application of “Disciplined Initiative”
� a reformulation of that content into a format which retains a high level of psychological
engagement but reduces the resource requirements and real/psychological casualty rates;
� a refinment of the content and method of instruction into a form suitable for field trial in a
military setting; and
� a development from the field trial parallel curricula tailored to the context of other industry
applications and levels of management.
2. Disciuline and Initiative:
What are the major determinants or sources of initiative ? Discipline, on one hand, is acquired by
learning how to deliver predictable and standardized outcomes when appropriately cued (certainty j.
Improvisation, on the other hand, is the delivery of a satisfactory outcome when initiative is exercised,
i.e., action is called for but the cues have not been experienced before, nor is there an available
repertoire of rehearsed responses to cope with the situation (uncertainty). A far more complete
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