An award , sometimes called a distinction , is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration .
81-437: An award may be described by three aspects: 1) to whom it is given to 2) what 3) by whom, all varying according to purpose. The recipient is often awarded to an individual, a student, athlete or representative of a group of people, be it an organisation , a sports team or a whole country . The award item may be a decoration or an insignia suitable for wearing, such as a medal , badge , award pin or rosette . It can also be
162-640: A state decoration by a sovereign state , dynasty or other public authority (see fount of honour ), or a private organisation or individual. The latter may also include ecclesiastical authorities, such as in the case of ecclesiastical awards . For example, the Nobel Prize recognizes contributions to society, while the Pulitzer Prize honors literary achievements. An award may be a public acknowledgment of excellence without any tangible token or prize. Awards for sports tournaments often take
243-399: A certain task can be fulfilled through a system of coordinated division of labor . Economic approaches to organizations also take the division of labor as a starting point. The division of labor allows for (economies of) specialization . Increasing specialization necessitates coordination. From an economic point of view, markets and organizations are alternative coordination mechanisms for
324-555: A childhood background of relative socio-economic deprivation . For example, after the US suspended conscription in 1973, "the military disproportionately attracted African American men, men from lower-status socioeconomic backgrounds, men who had been in nonacademic high school programs, and men whose high school grades tended to be low". However, a study released in 2020 on the socio-economic backgrounds of U.S. Armed Forces personnel suggests that they are at parity or slightly higher than
405-583: A civilian job while training under military discipline at weekends; he or she may be called out to deploy on operations to supplement the full-time personnel complement. After leaving the armed forces, recruits may remain liable for compulsory return to full-time military employment in order to train or deploy on operations . Military law introduces offences not recognized by civilian courts, such as absence without leave (AWOL) , desertion, political acts, malingering , behaving disrespectfully, and disobedience (see, for example, offences against military law in
486-414: A cluster of institutions; the two are distinct in the sense that organizations contain internal institutions (that govern interactions between the members of the organizations). The study of organizations includes a focus on optimising organizational structure . According to management science , most human organizations fall roughly into four types: These consist of a group of peers who decide as
567-480: A collective actor?). By coordinated and planned cooperation of the elements, the organization is able to solve tasks that lie beyond the abilities of the single element. The price paid by the elements is the limitation of the degrees of freedom of the elements. Advantages of organizations are enhancement (more of the same), addition (combination of different features), and extension. Disadvantages can be inertness (through coordination) and loss of interaction . Among
648-463: A correct vote (however correctness is defined). The problem is that if the average member is subsequently worse than a roll of dice, the committee's decisions grow worse, not better; therefore, staffing is crucial. Parliamentary procedure, such as Robert's Rules of Order , helps prevent committees from engaging in lengthy discussions without reaching decisions. This organizational structure promotes internal competition . Inefficient components of
729-443: A group, perhaps by voting. The difference between a jury and a committee is that the members of the committee are usually assigned to perform or lead further actions after the group comes to a decision, whereas members of a jury come to a decision. In common law countries, legal juries render decisions of guilt, liability, and quantify damages; juries are also used in athletic contests, book awards, and similar activities. Sometimes
810-525: A huge influence on Asian military doctrine, and from the late 19th century, on European and United States military planning . It has even been used to formulate business tactics, and can even be applied in social and political areas. The Classical Greeks and the Romans wrote prolifically on military campaigning . Among the best-known Roman works are Julius Caesar 's commentaries on the Gallic Wars , and
891-408: A major portion of his waking hours working for organizations. His need to identify with a community that provides security, protection, maintenance, and a feeling of belonging continues unchanged from prehistoric times. This need is met by the informal organization and its emergent, or unofficial, leaders. Leaders emerge from within the structure of the informal organization. Their personal qualities,
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#1732801304818972-399: A manager may be confronted by an emergent leader who can challenge his role in the organization and reduce it to that of a figurehead. However, only the authority of position has the backing of formal sanctions. It follows that whoever wields personal influence and power can legitimize this only by gaining a formal position in the hierarchy, with commensurate authority. An organization that
1053-524: A minimum period of service of several years; between two and six years is typical of armed forces in Australia, the UK and the US, for example, depending on role, branch, and rank. Some armed forces allow a short discharge window, normally during training, when recruits may leave the armed force as of right. Alternatively, part-time military employment, known as reserve service , allows a recruit to maintain
1134-418: A number of disciplines, such as sociology , economics , political science , psychology , management , and organizational communication . The broader analysis of organizations is commonly referred to as organizational structure , organizational studies , organizational behavior , or organization analysis. A number of different perspectives exist, some of which are compatible: Sociology can be defined as
1215-465: A selection committee functions like a jury. In the Middle Ages, juries in continental Europe were used to determine the law according to consensus among local notables. Committees are often the most reliable way to make decisions. Condorcet's jury theorem proved that if the average member votes better than a roll of dice, then adding more members increases the number of majorities that can come to
1296-464: A sense of military tradition , which is used to create cohesive military forces. Still, another is to learn to prevent wars more effectively. Human knowledge about the military is largely based on both recorded and oral history of military conflicts (war), their participating armies and navies and, more recently, air forces . Despite the growing importance of military technology , military activity depends above all on people. For example, in 2000
1377-618: A significant impact at the strategic level. This concept was pioneered by the German army prior to and during the Second World War . At this level, planning and duration of activities takes from one week to a month, and are executed by Field Armies and Army Corps and their naval and air equivalents. Military tactics concerns itself with the methods for engaging and defeating the enemy in direct combat. Military tactics are usually used by units over hours or days, and are focused on
1458-459: A token object such as a certificate , diploma , championship belt , trophy or plaque . The award may also be accompanied by a title of honor , and an object of direct cash value, such as prize money or a scholarship . Furthermore, an honorable mention is an award given, typically in education , that does not confer the recipient(s) a higher standing but is considered worth mentioning in an honourable way. An award may be conferred as
1539-414: A variety of legal types of organizations, including corporations , governments , non-governmental organizations , political organizations , international organizations , religious organizations , armed forces , charities , not-for-profit corporations , partnerships , cooperatives , and educational institutions , etc. A hybrid organization is a body that operates in both the public sector and
1620-653: A victory more often than that achieved by the Romans in praying to the gods before the battle. Later this became known as military science , and later still, would adopt the scientific method approach to the conduct of military operations under the influence of the Industrial Revolution thinking. In his seminal book On War , the Prussian Major-General and leading expert on modern military strategy , Carl von Clausewitz defined military strategy as 'the employment of battles to gain
1701-668: Is "functional" and assures that each type of expert in the organization is well-trained, and measured by a boss who is a super-expert in the same field. The other direction is "executive" and tries to get projects completed using the experts. Projects might be organized by products, regions, customer types, or some other schemes. As an example, a company might have an individual with overall responsibility for products X and Y, and another individual with overall responsibility for engineering, quality control, etc. Therefore, subordinates responsible for quality control of project X will have two reporting lines. The United States aerospace industries were
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#17328013048181782-496: Is a heavily armed , highly organized force primarily intended for warfare . Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state , with their members identifiable by a distinct military uniform . They may consist of one or more military branches such as an army , navy , air force , space force , marines , or coast guard . The main task of a military is usually defined as defence of their state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage,
1863-473: Is a stronger form of influence because it reflects a person's ability to enforce action through the control of a means of punishment. As most organizations operate through a mix of formal and informal mechanisms, organization science scholars have paid attention to the type of interplay between formal and informal organizations. On the one hand, some have argued that formal and informal organizations operate as substitutes as one type of organization would decrease
1944-431: Is also an area in which much effort is invested – it includes everything from global communication networks and aircraft carriers to paint and food. Possessing military capability is not sufficient if this capability cannot be deployed for, and employed in combat operations. To achieve this, military logistics are used for the logistics management and logistics planning of the forces military supply chain management ,
2025-628: Is an entity —such as a company , or corporation or an institution ( formal organization ), or an association —comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word in English is derived from the Spanish organisation, which itself is derived from the medieval Latin organizationem and its root organum was borrowed whole from the Latin word organon , which means tool or instrument, musical instrument, and organ . There are
2106-407: Is arguably one of the most complex activities known to humanity; because it requires determining: strategic, operational, and tactical capability requirements to counter the identified threats; strategic, operational , and tactical doctrines by which the acquired capabilities will be used; identifying concepts, methods, and systems involved in executing the doctrines; creating design specifications for
2187-410: Is by merit or seniority. Each employee receives a salary and enjoys a degree of tenure that safeguards him from the arbitrary influence of superiors or of powerful clients. The higher his position in the hierarchy, the greater his presumed expertise in adjudicating problems that may arise in the course of the work carried out at lower levels of the organization. It is this bureaucratic structure that forms
2268-405: Is conducted by determining a military budget , which is administered by a military finance organization within the military. Military procurement is then authorized to purchase or contract provision of goods and services to the military, whether in peacetime at a permanent base, or in a combat zone from local population. Capability development, which is often referred to as the military 'strength',
2349-495: Is established as a means for achieving defined objectives has been referred to as a formal organization . Its design specifies how goals are subdivided and reflected in subdivisions of the organization. Divisions, departments, sections, positions, jobs , and tasks make up this work structure . Thus, the formal organization is expected to behave impersonally in regard to relationships with clients or with its members. According to Weber's definition, entry and subsequent advancement
2430-571: Is in the nature of the secrecy of the information they seek, and the clandestine nature that intelligence operatives work in obtaining what may be plans for a conflict escalation , initiation of combat , or an invasion . An important part of the military intelligence role is the military analysis performed to assess military capability of potential future aggressors, and provide combat modelling that helps to understand factors on which comparison of forces can be made. This helps to quantify and qualify such statements as: " China and India maintain
2511-425: Is usually framed by formal membership and form (institutional rules). Sociology distinguishes the term organization into planned formal and unplanned informal (i.e. spontaneously formed) organizations. Sociology analyses organizations in the first line from an institutional perspective. In this sense, the organization is an enduring arrangement of elements. These elements and their actions are determined by rules so that
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2592-593: The Roman Civil war – written about 50 BC. Two major works on tactics come from the late Roman period: Taktike Theoria by Aelianus Tacticus , and De Re Militari ('On military matters') by Vegetius . Taktike Theoria examined Greek military tactics, and was most influential in the Byzantine world and during the Golden Age of Islam . De Re Militari formed the basis of European military tactics until
2673-407: The history of war , with military history focusing on the people and institutions of war-making, while the history of war focuses on the evolution of war itself in the face of changing technology, governments, and geography. Military history has a number of facets. One main facet is to learn from past accomplishments and mistakes, so as to more effectively wage war in the future. Another is to create
2754-441: The private sector simultaneously, fulfilling public duties and developing commercial market activities. A voluntary association is an organization consisting of volunteers. Such organizations may be able to operate without legal formalities, depending on jurisdiction, including informal clubs or coordinating bodies with a goal in mind which they may express in the form of a manifesto , mission statement , or implicitly through
2835-620: The British Army declared: "Man is still the first weapon of war." The military organization is characterized by a command hierarchy divided by military rank , with ranks normally grouped (in descending order of authority) as officers (e.g. colonel ), non-commissioned officers (e.g. sergeant ), and personnel at the lowest rank (e.g. private ). While senior officers make strategic decisions, subordinated military personnel ( soldiers , sailors , marines , or airmen ) fulfil them. Although rank titles vary by military branch and country,
2916-478: The MI their true capabilities, and to impress potential ideological recruits. Having military intelligence representatives participate in the execution of the national defence policy is important, because it becomes the first respondent and commentator on the policy expected strategic goal , compared to the realities of identified threats . When the intelligence reporting is compared to the policy, it becomes possible for
2997-975: The United Kingdom ). Penalties range from a summary reprimand to imprisonment for several years following a court martial . Certain rights are also restricted or suspended, including the freedom of association (e.g. union organizing) and freedom of speech (speaking to the media). Military personnel in some countries have a right of conscientious objection if they believe an order is immoral or unlawful, or cannot in good conscience carry it out. Personnel may be posted to bases in their home country or overseas, according to operational need, and may be deployed from those bases on exercises or operations . During peacetime, when military personnel are generally stationed in garrisons or other permanent military facilities, they conduct administrative tasks, training and education activities, technology maintenance , and recruitment . Initial training conditions recruits for
3078-467: The advantages of using the other one. For instance, if parties trust each other the use of a formal contract is unnecessary or even detrimental to the relationship. On the other hand, other scholars have suggested that formal and informal organizations can complement each other. For instance, formal mechanisms of control can pave the way for the development of relational norms. Armed forces A military , also known collectively as armed forces ,
3159-462: The appropriateness of participation awards for students in United States schools. A relative field to awards is phaleristics , an auxiliary science of history and numismatics which studies orders , fraternities and award items , such as medals and other decorations. Organisation An organization or organisation ( Commonwealth English ; see spelling differences ),
3240-497: The armed forces, and at all levels of the military hierarchy of command. Although concerned with research into military psychology , particularly combat stress and how it affects troop morale , often the bulk of military science activities is directed at military intelligence technology, military communications , and improving military capability through research. The design, development, and prototyping of weapons , military support equipment, and military technology in general,
3321-418: The basis for the appointment of heads or chiefs of administrative subdivisions in the organization and endows them with the authority attached to their position. In contrast to the appointed head or chief of an administrative unit, a leader emerges within the context of the informal organization that underlies the formal structure. The informal organization expresses the personal objectives and goals of
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3402-513: The civilian population with respect to socio-economic indicators such as parental income, parental wealth and cognitive abilities. The study found that technological, tactical, operational and doctrinal changes have led to a change in the demand for personnel. Furthermore, the study suggests that the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups are less likely to meet the requirements of the modern U.S. military. The obligations of military employment are many. Full-time military employment normally requires
3483-592: The commanding forces and other military, as well as often civilian personnel participate in identification of these threats. This is at once an organization, a system and a process collectively called military intelligence (MI). Areas of study in Military intelligence may include the operational environment, hostile, friendly and neutral forces, the civilian population in an area of combat operations, and other broader areas of interest. The difficulty in using military intelligence concepts and military intelligence methods
3564-454: The concepts and methods used by the command to employ appropriately military skilled, armed and equipped personnel in achievement of the tangible goals and objectives of the war , campaign , battle , engagement, and action. The line between strategy and tactics is not easily blurred, although deciding which is being discussed had sometimes been a matter of personal judgement by some commentators, and military historians. The use of forces at
3645-410: The concerns of military command. Military strategy is more concerned with the supply of war and planning, than management of field forces and combat between them. The scope of strategic military planning can span weeks, but is more often months or even years. Operational mobility is, within warfare and military doctrine , the level of command which coordinates the minute details of tactics with
3726-512: The consumables, and capital equipment of the troops. Although mostly concerned with the military transport , as a means of delivery using different modes of transport; from military trucks , to container ships operating from permanent military base , it also involves creating field supply dumps at the rear of the combat zone, and even forward supply points in a specific unit's tactical area of responsibility . These supply points are also used to provide military engineering services, such as
3807-429: The demands of military life, including preparedness to injure and kill other people, and to face mortal danger without fleeing. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process which resocializes recruits for the unique nature of military demands. For example: The next requirement comes as a fairly basic need for the military to identify possible threats it may be called upon to face. For this purpose, some of
3888-404: The demands of the situation, or a combination of these and other factors attract followers who accept their leadership within one or several overlay structures. Instead of the authority of position held by an appointed head or chief, the emergent leader wields influence or power. Influence is the ability of a person to gain cooperation from others by means of persuasion or control over rewards. Power
3969-463: The end of war'. According to Clausewitz: strategy forms the plan of the War, and to this end it links together the series of acts which are to lead to the final decision, that is to say, it makes the plans for the separate campaigns and regulates the combats to be fought in each. Hence, Clausewitz placed political aims above military goals , ensuring civilian control of the military . Military strategy
4050-413: The execution of transactions . An organization is defined by the elements that are part of it (who belongs to the organization and who does not?), its communication (which elements communicate and how do they communicate?), its autonomy (which changes are executed autonomously by the organization or its elements?), and its rules of action compared to outside events (what causes an organization to act as
4131-401: The existence of the military is to engage in combat , should it be required to do so by the national defence policy, and to win. This represents an organisational goal of any military, and the primary focus for military thought through military history . How victory is achieved, and what shape it assumes, is studied by most, if not all, military groups on three levels. Military strategy is
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#17328013048184212-414: The first to officially use this organizational structure after it emerged in the early 1960s. A hierarchy exemplifies an arrangement with a leader who leads other individual members of the organization. This arrangement is often associated with the basis that there are enough to imagine a real pyramid, if there are not enough stone blocks to hold up the higher ones, gravity would irrevocably bring down
4293-417: The form of cups , following a tradition harking back to the ancient Greek tripod given to winners in athletic contests. The Stanley Cup is a modern example. In contrast, awards for employee recognition often take the form of plaques or crystal pieces. An award may carry a monetary prize given to the recipient. Finally, an award may recognize participation rather than victory. There is controversy regarding
4374-793: The form of military camouflage or misdirection using decoys , is used to confuse the enemy as a tactic. A major development in infantry tactics came with the increased use of trench warfare in the 19th and 20th centuries. This was mainly employed in World War I in the Gallipoli campaign , and the Western Front . Trench warfare often turned to a stalemate, only broken by a large loss of life, because, in order to attack an enemy entrenchment, soldiers had to run through an exposed ' no man's land ' under heavy fire from their opposing entrenched enemy. As with any occupation, since ancient times,
4455-443: The individual membership . Their objectives and goals may or may not coincide with those of the formal organization. The informal organization represents an extension of the social structures that generally characterize human life – the spontaneous emergence of groups and organizations as ends in themselves. In prehistoric times, man was preoccupied with his personal security, maintenance, protection, and survival. Now man spends
4536-517: The largest armed forces in the World" or that "the U.S. Military is considered to be the world's strongest". Although some groups engaged in combat, such as militants or resistance movements , refer to themselves using military terminology, notably 'Army' or 'Front', none have had the structure of a national military to justify the reference, and usually have had to rely on support of outside national militaries. They also use these terms to conceal from
4617-540: The late 17th century. Perhaps its most enduring maxim is Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum (let he who desires peace prepare for war). Due to the changing nature of combat with the introduction of artillery in the European Middle Ages , and infantry firearms in the Renaissance , attempts were made to define and identify those strategies, grand tactics , and tactics that would produce
4698-482: The level of organization between strategic and tactical is called operational mobility . Because most of the concepts and methods used by the military, and many of its systems are not found in commercial branches, much of the material is researched, designed, developed, and offered for inclusion in arsenals by military science organizations within the overall structure of the military. Therefore, military scientists can be found interacting with all Arms and Services of
4779-426: The management of forces in wars and military campaigns by a commander-in-chief , employing large military forces, either national and allied as a whole, or the component elements of armies , navies and air forces ; such as army groups , naval fleets , and large numbers of aircraft . Military strategy is a long-term projection of belligerents' policy, with a broad view of outcome implications, including outside
4860-630: The manufacturers who would produce these in adequate quantity and quality for their use in combat; purchase the concepts, methods, and systems; create a forces structure that would use the concepts, methods, and systems most effectively and efficiently; integrate these concepts, methods, and systems into the force structure by providing military education , training , and practice that preferably resembles combat environment of intended use; create military logistics systems to allow continued and uninterrupted performance of military organizations under combat conditions, including provision of health services to
4941-497: The military has been distinguished from other members of the society by their tools: the weapons and military equipment used in combat. When Stone Age humans first took flint to tip the spear , it was the first example of applying technology to improve the weapon. Since then, the advances made by human societies, and that of weapons, has been closely linked. Stone weapons gave way to Bronze Age and Iron Age weapons such as swords and shields . With each technological change
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#17328013048185022-436: The military may be employed in additional sanctioned and non-sanctioned functions within the state, including internal security threats, crowd control , promotion of political agendas , emergency services and reconstruction, protecting corporate economic interests, social ceremonies, and national honour guards . The profession of soldiering is older than recorded history . Some images of classical antiquity portray
5103-488: The monumental structure. So one can imagine that if the leader does not have the support of his subordinates, the entire structure will collapse. Hierarchies were satirized in The Peter Principle (1969), a book that introduced hierarchiology and the saying that "in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence." In the social sciences, organizations are the object of analysis for
5184-425: The national leadership to consider allocating resources over and above the officers and their subordinates military pay, and the expense of maintaining military facilities and military support services for them. Source: SIPRI Defense economics is the financial and monetary efforts made to resource and sustain militaries, and to finance military operations , including war. The process of allocating resources
5265-736: The organization starve, while effective ones get more work. Everybody is paid for what they actually do, and so runs a tiny business that has to show a profit , or they are fired. Companies that utilize this organization type reflect a rather one-sided view of what goes on in ecology . It is also the case that a natural ecosystem has a natural border – ecoregions do not, in general, compete with one another in any way, but are very autonomous. The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline talks about functioning as this type of organization in this external article from The Guardian . By:Bastian Batac De Leon. This organizational type assigns each worker two bosses in two different hierarchies. One hierarchy
5346-509: The organization's actions. Organizations may also operate secretly or illegally in the case of secret societies , criminal organizations , and resistance movements . And in some cases may have obstacles from other organizations (e.g.: MLK's organization) . What makes an organization recognized by the government is either filling out incorporation or recognition in the form of either societal pressure (e.g.: Advocacy group ), causing concerns (e.g.: Resistance movement ) or being considered
5427-421: The overarching goals of strategy . A common synonym is operational art. The operational level is at a scale bigger than one where line of sight and the time of day are important, and smaller than the strategic level, where production and politics are considerations. Formations are of the operational level if they are able to conduct operations on their own, and are of sufficient size to be directly handled or have
5508-417: The personnel, and maintenance for the equipment; the services to assist recovery of wounded personnel, and repair of damaged equipment; and finally, post-conflict demobilization , and disposal of war stocks surplus to peacetime requirements. Development of military doctrine is perhaps the most important of all capability development activities, because it determines how military forces are used in conflicts,
5589-486: The physicality of armed forces, their personnel , equipment , and the physical area which they occupy. As an adjective, military originally referred only to soldiers and soldiering, but it broadened to apply to land forces in general, and anything to do with their profession. The names of both the Royal Military Academy (1741) and United States Military Academy (1802) reflect this. However, at about
5670-550: The power and feats of military leaders . The Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC from the reign of Ramses II , features in bas-relief monuments. The first Emperor of a unified China , Qin Shi Huang , created the Terracotta Army to represent his military might. The Ancient Romans wrote many treatises and writings on warfare, as well as many decorated triumphal arches and victory columns . The first recorded use of
5751-445: The rank hierarchy is common to all state armed forces worldwide. In addition to their rank, personnel occupy one of many trade roles, which are often grouped according to the nature of the role's military tasks on combat operations: combat roles (e.g. infantry ), combat support roles (e.g. combat engineers ), and combat service support roles (e.g. logistical support ). Personnel may be recruited or conscripted , depending on
5832-415: The recovery of defective and derelict vehicles and weapons, maintenance of weapons in the field, the repair and field modification of weapons and equipment; and in peacetime, the life-extension programmes undertaken to allow continued use of equipment. One of the most important role of logistics is the supply of munitions as a primary type of consumable, their storage, and disposal . The primary reason for
5913-410: The science of the institutions of modernity ; specific institutions serve a function , akin to the individual organs of a coherent body. In the social and political sciences in general, an "organization" may be more loosely understood as the planned, coordinated, and purposeful action of human beings working through collective action to reach a common goal or construct a tangible product . This action
5994-453: The specific tasks and objectives of squadrons , companies , battalions , regiments , brigades , and divisions , and their naval and air force equivalents. One of the oldest military publications is The Art of War , by the Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu . Written in the 6th century BCE, the 13-chapter book is intended as military instruction, and not as military theory , but has had
6075-545: The spokesperson of a group of people subject to negotiation (e.g.: the Polisario Front being recognized as the sole representative of the Sahrawi people and forming a partially recognized state .) Compare the concept of social groups , which may include non-organizations. Organizations and institutions can be synonymous, but Jack Knight writes that organizations are a narrow version of institutions or represent
6156-698: The system chosen by the state. Most military personnel are males; the minority proportion of female personnel varies internationally (approximately 3% in India, 10% in the UK, 13% in Sweden, 16% in the US, and 27% in South Africa ). While two-thirds of states now recruit or conscript only adults, as of 2017 50 states still relied partly on children under the age of 18 (usually aged 16 or 17) to staff their armed forces. Whereas recruits who join as officers tend to be upwardly-mobile , most enlisted personnel have
6237-471: The terms "armed forces" and "military" are often synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include other paramilitary forces such as armed police. A nation's military may function as a discrete social subculture , with dedicated infrastructure such as military housing, schools , utilities, logistics , hospitals , legal services, food production, finance, and banking services. Beyond warfare,
6318-423: The theories that are or have been influential are: A leader in a formal, hierarchical organization , is appointed to a managerial position and has the right to command and enforce obedience by virtue of the authority of his position. However, he must possess adequate personal attributes to match his authority, because authority is only potentially available to him. In the absence of sufficient personal competence,
6399-471: The time of the Napoleonic Wars , military began to be used in reference to armed forces as a whole, such as " military service ", " military intelligence ", and " military history ". As such, it now connotes any activity performed by armed force personnel. Military history is often considered to be the history of all conflicts, not just the history of the state militaries. It differs somewhat from
6480-459: The word "military" in English, spelled militarie , was in 1582. It comes from the Latin militaris (from Latin miles ' soldier ' ) through French, but is of uncertain etymology, one suggestion being derived from *mil-it- – going in a body or mass. As a noun phrase, "the military" usually refers generally to a country's armed forces, or sometimes, more specifically, to the senior officers who command them. In general, it refers to
6561-718: Was one of a triumvirate of ' arts ' or 'sciences' that governed the conduct of warfare, the others being: military tactics , the execution of plans and manoeuvring of forces in battle , and maintenance of an army. The meaning of military tactics has changed over time; from the deployment and manoeuvring of entire land armies on the fields of ancient battles, and galley fleets; to modern use of small unit ambushes , encirclements , bombardment attacks, frontal assaults , air assaults , hit-and-run tactics used mainly by guerrilla forces, and, in some cases, suicide attacks on land and at sea. Evolution of aerial warfare introduced its own air combat tactics . Often, military deception , in
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