hi! these posts aren't strictly on the subject of "efficiency", but may be relevant and of interest

Discipline & military tradition

• "Prussian discipline" is a term that comes up quite a bit. In what ways was Prussian society more disciplinarian than other European cultures of the age?

• Question about the evolution of the stereotypes of Germans and historical truth and falsehood behind them

• Was the prussian army as disciplined and modern as history makes it seem?

• Where did the Prussian martial tradition/prowess come from?

• What are the roots of the Germans' "respect for authority"?

"German engineering"

• Why is German Engineering 'a thing?'

• How did Germany overtake Britain in industrial output by the early 20th century, despite the former's lead and straightforward advantages?

• What led to the German scientific powerhouse of the 20th Century?

• What made the Germanic region such a powerhouse in mathematics in the 18th-20th centuries?

• Is there a reason for why so many renowned scientists/inventors were German, historically?

The first world war saw the introduction of elements of a centrally planned war economy in Germany. Strict control over raw materials became necessary due to the allied Sea blockade , the Raw materials section/Kriegsrohstoffabteilung of the war ministry was a planning body tasked with control over and distribution of strategic raw materials. German industrialist Walther Rathenau created this planning body;

One side effect was that a directed/planned economy became to be seen by many as the model remedy for peacetime woes. (Interesting that the whole schema could not have worked without Fritz Haber’s Nitrogen synthesis)

---

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_warfare_of_World_War_I

Walter Rathenau 'Die Organisation der Rohstoffversorgung' http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21031/21031-h/21031-h.htm