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A Uniform is a variety of costume worn by members of an organization while usually participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police , emergency services , security guards , in some workplaces and schools , and by inmates in prisons . In some countries, some other officials also wear uniforms in their duties; such is the case of the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service or the French prefects . For some organizations, such as police, it may be illegal for non-members to wear the uniform.

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88-739: From the Latin unus (meaning one), and forma (meaning form). Workers sometimes wear uniforms or corporate clothing of one nature or another. Workers required to wear a uniform may include retail workers, bank and post-office workers, public-security and health-care workers, blue-collar employees, personal trainers in health clubs, instructors in summer camps , lifeguards , janitors , public-transit employees, towing - and truck -drivers, airline employees and holiday operators, and bar , restaurant and hotel employees. The use of uniforms in commercial or public-service organizations often reflects an effort in branding and in developing

176-492: A separate legal person was mainly administrative, as a unified entity under which the rights and duties of all investors and managers could be channeled. However, there was still no limited liability and company members could still be held responsible for unlimited losses by the company. The next, crucial development, then, was the Limited Liability Act 1855 , passed at the behest of the then Vice President of

264-683: A "reefer" blazer. Particularly in North America and the UK, it is often used in business casual attire. Blazers, in a wide range of colours, are worn as part of school uniforms by many schools across the Commonwealth , and are still daily wear for most uniformed pupils in Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These are blazers in the traditional sense: single-breasted, and often of bright colours or with piping . This style

352-630: A badge of office, may accompany or replace medical uniforms. Uniforms are required for students in many schools in different countries. School uniforms vary from a standard issue T-shirt to rigorous requirements for many items of formal wear at private schools. School uniforms are in place in many public schools as well. Countries where mandatory school uniforms are common include Japan , South Korea , Hong Kong , Thailand , India , Australia , UAE , Singapore , Albania , Philippines , some schools in Taiwan , New Zealand , South Africa , Indonesia and

440-400: A charter granted by the government. As explained above, such charters were often enacted as private bills . Today, a corporation is formed, or incorporated , by registering with the state, province, or national government and regulated by the laws enacted by that government. Registration is the main prerequisite to the corporation's assumption of limited liability. The law sometimes requires

528-422: A coloured flannel jacket, whether for cricket, tennis, boating, or seaside wear." These early blazers were like later sports jackets, but this term has never referred to blazers, instead describing jackets derived from the later innovation of wearing odd jackets for land-based sports. Assertions that the name is derived from HMS Blazer are not borne out by contemporary sources, although it is reported that before

616-489: A corporation are typically controlled by individuals appointed by the members. In some cases, this will be a single individual but more commonly corporations are controlled by a committee or by committees. Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of committee structure. In countries with co-determination (such as in Germany ), workers elect a fixed fraction of the corporation's board. Historically, corporations were created by

704-436: A corporation as: a collection of many individuals united into one body, under a special denomination, having perpetual succession under an artificial form, and vested, by the policy of the law, with the capacity of acting, in several respects, as an individual, particularly of taking and granting property, of contracting obligations, and of suing and being sued, of enjoying privileges and immunities in common, and of exercising

792-558: A corporation can be classified as aggregate (the subject of this article) or sole (a legal entity consisting of a single incorporated office occupied by a single natural person ). Registered corporations have legal personality recognized by local authorities and their shares are owned by shareholders whose liability is generally limited to their investment. One of the attractive early advantages business corporations offered to their investors , compared to earlier business entities like sole proprietorships and joint partnerships ,

880-439: A corporation; shareholders instead elect or appoint a board of directors to control the corporation in a fiduciary capacity. In most circumstances, a shareholder may also serve as a director or officer of a corporation. Countries with co-determination employ the practice of workers of an enterprise having the right to vote for representatives on the board of directors in a company. The word "corporation" derives from corpus ,

968-551: A crimson blazer to the winner of the regatta, while the latter awards a green blazer to the winner of the Masters. The sartorial term blazer originated with the red "blazers" of the Lady Margaret Boat Club (1825), the rowing club of St. John's College, Cambridge . The Lady Margaret club jackets were termed blazers because of the bright red cloth, and the term survived the original red coat. Walter Wren ,

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1056-424: A distinct name. Historically, some corporations were named after the members of their boards of directors: for example, the " President and Fellows of Harvard College " is the name of one of the two governing boards of Harvard University , but it is also the exact name under which Harvard was legally incorporated. Nowadays, corporations in most jurisdictions have a distinct name that does not need to make reference to

1144-463: A few diplomatic services, and are seldom worn. Members of the police in every country have a uniform for identification as law-enforcement personnel or agents. They are distinguished from the public by the uniform the police wear during overt policing activity. Usually each country has its own different police uniform. Contrast plainclothes law enforcement and undercover operations . Most, if not all, sports teams also wear uniforms, made in

1232-497: A light color, but as of the 2017–18 season allows home teams to wear any uniform color, mandating only that away teams wear a color that sufficiently contrasts with the home team's choice. These rules are not strictly enforced, however, for any of the four major professional sports leagues in North America. Some NFL teams, most notably the Dallas Cowboys , prefer to wear their white jerseys for home games. When Joe Gibbs

1320-399: A monarch or passed by a parliament or legislature). Most jurisdictions now allow the creation of new corporations through registration . Corporations come in many different types but are usually divided by the law of the jurisdiction where they are chartered based on two aspects: whether they can issue stock , or whether they are formed to make a profit . Depending on the number of owners,

1408-537: A partnership arose. Early guilds and livery companies were also often involved in the regulation of competition between traders. Dutch and English chartered companies, such as the Dutch East India Company (also known by its Dutch initials: VOC) and the Hudson's Bay Company , were created to lead the colonial ventures of European nations in the 17th century. Acting under a charter sanctioned by

1496-553: A partnership or some other form of collective ownership (in the United States it can be used by a sole proprietorship but this is not generally the case elsewhere). Despite not being human beings, corporations have been ruled legal persons in a few countries, and have many of the same rights as natural persons do. For example, a corporation can own property, and can sue or be sued for as long as it exists. Corporations can exercise human rights against real individuals and

1584-405: A patch on the chest pocket denoting the club or college. Other types, featuring a contrasting piping along notched lapels, were worn more formally for the presentation of cups or medals. Blazers are often part of a uniform that denotes, for example, an airline's employees, pupils of a particular school, members of sports clubs, or sportswomen and men on a particular team. Blazers are worn with

1672-481: A private act to allow an individual to represent the whole in legal proceedings, this was a narrow and necessarily costly expedient, allowed only to established companies. Then, in 1843, William Gladstone became the chairman of a Parliamentary Committee on Joint Stock Companies, which led to the Joint Stock Companies Act 1844 , regarded as the first modern piece of company law. The Act created

1760-466: A proliferation of laws allowing for the creation of corporations by registration across the world, which helped to drive economic booms in many countries before and after World War I. Another major post World War I shift was toward the development of conglomerates , in which large corporations purchased smaller corporations to expand their industrial base. Starting in the 1980s, many countries with large state-owned corporations moved toward privatization ,

1848-453: A scarlet jacket worn in club or plain colours when boating or cricketing, the garment gradually lost its connection with sportswear from the 1930s onward to enter classic style, and the look came to be associated with the lifestyle of wealthy elites. A "nautical blazer" is a double-breasted navy blue jacket with naval-style metal buttons (gold, or sometimes silver coloured). "Rowing" or "cricket blazers" have bright-coloured solid stripes, and

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1936-413: A school, college, sports club, or armed service regimental association (veterans' organization), it is normal for a badge to be sewn to the breast pocket. In schools, this badge may vary according to the pupil's standing in the school: being a member of the junior or senior school, being a prefect , or having been awarded colours in recognition of particular achievement in some academic or sporting field. In

2024-442: A second. Employees all wearing black, for example, may appear conspicuous and thus represent the organization even though their attire is uniform only in the color of their clothing, not in its features. Pratt & Rafaeli, (1997) described struggles between employees and management about organizational dress as struggles about deeper meanings and identities that dress represents. And Pratt & Rafaeli (2001) described dress as one of

2112-478: A standard corporate image ; it also has important effects on the employees required to wear uniforms. The term uniform may be misleading because employees are not always fully uniform in appearance and may not always wear attire provided by the organization, while still representing the organization in their attire. Academic work on organizational dress by Rafaeli & Pratt (1993) referred to uniformity (homogeneity) of dress as one dimension, and conspicuousness as

2200-958: A variety of political rights, more or less extensive, according to the design of its institution, or the powers conferred upon it, either at the time of its creation or at any subsequent period of its existence. Due to the late 18th century abandonment of mercantilist economic theory and the rise of classical liberalism and laissez-faire economic theory due to a revolution in economics led by Adam Smith and other economists, corporations transitioned from being government or guild affiliated entities to being public and private economic entities free of governmental directions. Smith wrote in his 1776 work The Wealth of Nations that mass corporate activity could not match private entrepreneurship, because people in charge of others' money would not exercise as much care as they would with their own. The British Bubble Act 1720s prohibition on establishing companies remained in force until its repeal in 1825. By this point,

2288-429: A wide variety of clothes, ranging from a dress shirt and necktie to an open-necked polo shirt, or even just a plain t-shirt . They are seen with trousers of all colours and fabrics, from the classic white cotton or linen , to grey flannel , to brown or beige chinos , and also jeans . A fitted, classically cut, double-breasted navy blue blazer with navy-style buttons is a popular design and sometimes referred to as

2376-541: A writer to the London Daily News (22 August 1889) commented that "In your article of to-day … you speak of 'a striped red and black blazer', 'the blazer', also of 'the pale toned' ones … A blazer is the red flannel boating jacket worn by the Lady Margaret, St. John's College, Cambridge, Boat Club. When I was at Cambridge it meant that and nothing else. It seems from your article that a blazer now means

2464-514: Is also worn by some boat clubs, such as those in Cambridge or Oxford , with the piped version used only on special occasions such as a boat club dinner. In this case, the piping is in college colours , and college buttons are worn. This traditional style can be seen in many feature films set in the Edwardian era , such as Kind Hearts and Coronets . Where the blazer is part of the dress of

2552-478: Is any uniform worn by individuals incarcerated in a prison , jail or similar facility of detention . The beauticians use uniforms to protect their skin from harmful chemicals and acid. These chemical resistant and water proof uniforms are not only safe to work in but also provide a professional, polished appearance throughout the day. The Scout uniform is a specific characteristic of the Scouting movement, in

2640-473: Is authorized to issue, and the names and addresses of directors. Once the articles are approved, the corporation's directors meet to create bylaws that govern the internal functions of the corporation, such as meeting procedures and officer positions. In theory, a corporation cannot own its own stock. An exception is treasury stock , where the company essentially buys back stock from its shareholders, which reduces its outstanding shares. This essentially becomes

2728-666: Is considered customary for the captain to wear a blazer with the team's logo or national coat of arms on the breast pocket — at least during the coin toss at the beginning of the match. Two sporting events where blazers signify victory are the Congressional Cup Regatta , at the Long Beach Yacht Club, California , and the Masters golf tournament , held in Augusta , Georgia . The former event awards

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2816-647: Is light. In the four major North American sports leagues , one of the two uniforms is almost always predominantly white, and each league except for the National Basketball Association (NBA) has a rule to determine which team should normally wear its white uniform. Customarily, National Football League (NFL) and National Hockey League (NHL) teams wear their color uniforms for home games. By contrast, Major League Baseball (MLB) teams wear their white uniforms for home games. The NBA traditionally required home teams to wear white, or at least

2904-447: Is limited: one can only collect from whatever assets the entity still controls when one obtains a judgment against it. Corporate names are supposed to be unique to the jurisdiction in which the corporation is registered. Governments will not allow another corporation or any other kind of legal entity to register a name that is too similar to the name of an existing corporation. However, since "different states may register entities with

2992-407: Is usually required to register with other governments as a foreign corporation and must formally appoint a registered agent to accept service of process within such other jurisdictions. A foreign corporation is almost always subject to the laws of its host state pertaining to external affairs such as employment , crimes , contracts , civil actions , and the like. Corporations generally have

3080-715: The Industrial Revolution had gathered pace, pressing for legal change to facilitate business activity. The repeal was the beginning of a gradual lifting on restrictions, though business ventures (such as those chronicled by Charles Dickens in Martin Chuzzlewit ) under primitive companies legislation were often scams. Without cohesive regulation, proverbial operations like the "Anglo-Bengalee Disinterested Loan and Life Assurance Company" were undercapitalized ventures promising no hope of success except for richly paid promoters. The process of incorporation

3168-620: The Latin word for body, or a "body of people". By the time of Justinian (reigned 527–565), Roman law recognized a range of corporate entities under the names Universitas , corpus or collegium . Following the passage of the Lex Julia during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their reaffirmation during the reign of Caesar Augustus as Princeps senatus and Imperator of

3256-457: The Registrar of Joint Stock Companies , empowered to register companies by a two-stage process. The first, provisional, stage cost £5 and did not confer corporate status, which arose after completing the second stage for another £5. For the first time in history, it was possible for ordinary people through a simple registration procedure to incorporate. The advantage of establishing a company as

3344-853: The Roman Army (27 BC–14 AD), collegia required the approval of the Roman Senate or the Emperor in order to be authorized as legal bodies . These included the state itself (the Populus Romanus ), municipalities, and such private associations as sponsors of a religious cult , burial clubs , political groups, and guilds of craftsmen or traders. Such bodies commonly had the right to own property and make contracts, to receive gifts and legacies, to sue and be sued, and, in general, to perform legal acts through representatives. Private associations were granted designated privileges and liberties by

3432-536: The United Kingdom , among many other places. In some countries, uniform types vary from school to school, in the United Kingdom, many pupils between 11 and 16 of age wear a blazer , tie and trousers for boys and blouse , tie and trousers , skirt , or culottes for girls. The ties tend to have a set pattern or a logo embroidered representing the school, and jackets will usually carry a badge on

3520-674: The War of the Spanish Succession , which gave Great Britain an asiento to trade in the region for thirty years. In fact, the Spanish remained hostile and let only one ship a year enter. Unaware of the problems, investors in Britain, enticed by extravagant promises of profit from company promoters bought thousands of shares. By 1717, the South Sea Company was so wealthy (still having done no real business) that it assumed

3608-562: The public debt of the British government. This accelerated the inflation of the share price further, as did the Bubble Act 1720 , which (possibly with the motive of protecting the South Sea Company from competition) prohibited the establishment of any companies without a royal charter. The share price rose so rapidly that people began buying shares merely in order to sell them at a higher price, which in turn led to higher share prices. This

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3696-470: The standardization of uniform in the Royal Navy , the crew of HMS Blazer wore "striped blue and white jackets", apparently in response to the sailors of HMS Harlequin being turned out in harlequin suits. As late as 1837 the gig's crew of HMS Blazer were dressed by their Captain in jackets of blue and white stripes and it is from this that the word blazer , meaning a striped jacket, has entered

3784-545: The Blue Flames , The Animals , The Yardbirds , the Moody Blues and The Troggs – had band members wearing striped blazers/boating jackets, or later, brightly coloured blazers with wide white or other light edging. These later blazers often had non-metal buttons, sometimes in the same colour as the edging. The earlier style of striped blazers can be seen in the film Quadrophenia . The later, bright, style of blazer

3872-658: The Board of Trade, Robert Lowe . This allowed investors to limit their liability in the event of business failure to the amount they invested in the company – shareholders were still liable directly to creditors , but just for the unpaid portion of their shares . (The principle that shareholders are liable to the corporation had been introduced in the Joint Stock Companies Act 1844). The 1855 Act allowed limited liability to companies of more than 25 members (shareholders). Insurance companies were excluded from

3960-589: The Commonwealth, many regimental associations wear "regimental blazers" which also sport a similar badge on the breast pocket, usually in the form of a wire badge, and sometimes also regimental blazer buttons. In the British Army , officers do not normally wear badges on their blazers (or boating jackets). Two regimental blazers will rarely be the same, as they are sourced from different civilian suppliers and are not issued by any authority. This results from

4048-713: The Dutch government, the Dutch East India Company defeated Portuguese forces and established itself in the Moluccan Islands in order to profit from the European demand for spices . Investors in the VOC were issued paper certificates as proof of share ownership, and were able to trade their shares on the original Amsterdam Stock Exchange . Shareholders were also explicitly granted limited liability in

4136-699: The English East India Company would come to symbolize the dazzlingly rich potential of the corporation, as well as new methods of business that could be both brutal and exploitative. On 31 December 1600, Queen Elizabeth I granted the company a 15-year monopoly on trade to and from the East Indies and Africa . By 1711, shareholders in the East India Company were earning a return on their investment of almost 150 per cent. Subsequent stock offerings demonstrated just how lucrative

4224-424: The UK, such as fraud and corporate manslaughter . However, corporations are not considered living entities in the way that humans are. Legal scholars and others, such as Joel Bakan , have observed that a business corporation created as a "legal person" has a psychopathic personality because it is required to elevate its own interests above those of others even when this inflicts major risks and grave harms on

4312-539: The act, though it was standard practice for insurance contracts to exclude action against individual members. Limited liability for insurance companies was allowed by the Companies Act 1862 . This prompted the English periodical The Economist to write in 1855 that "never, perhaps, was a change so vehemently and generally demanded, of which the importance was so much overrated." The major error of this judgment

4400-605: The breast pocket with the school's name, coat of arms , and motto or emblem . Children in many British state primary schools will have a uniform jumper and/or polo shirt with the school name and logo. Some universities in the DPRK require students to wear uniforms. From about 1800 to after the Second World War, diplomats from most countries (and often senior non-military officials generally) wore official uniforms at public occasions. Such uniforms are now retained by only

4488-463: The case of antiques , often outlast the fabric components of the uniform, and become highly collectable items. Nowadays, buttons come in different materials, shapes sizes and colors. In some countries or regions such as the UK , Australia or Hong Kong , the cost of cleaning one's uniform or work clothing can be partially deducted or rebated from the personal income tax , if the organization for which

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4576-613: The company had become. Its first stock offering in 1713–1716 raised £418,000, its second in 1717–1722 raised £1.6 million. A similar chartered company , the South Sea Company , was established in 1711 to trade in the Spanish South American colonies, but met with less success. The South Sea Company's monopoly rights were supposedly backed by the Treaty of Utrecht , signed in 1713 as a settlement following

4664-556: The company's royal charter. In England, the government created corporations under a royal charter or an Act of Parliament with the grant of a monopoly over a specified territory. The best-known example, established in 1600, was the East India Company of London . Queen Elizabeth I granted it the exclusive right to trade with all countries to the east of the Cape of Good Hope . Some corporations at this time would act on

4752-402: The corporate model for this reason (as a trust ). State governments began to adopt more permissive corporate laws from the early 19th century, although these were all restrictive in design, often with the intention of preventing corporations from gaining too much wealth and power. New Jersey was the first state to adopt an "enabling" corporate law, with the goal of attracting more business to

4840-490: The corporate status of the entity (for example, "Incorporated" or "Inc." in the United States) or the limited liability of its members (for example, "Limited", "Ltd.", or "LLC"). These terms vary by jurisdiction and language. In some jurisdictions, they are mandatory, and in others, such as California, they are not. Their use puts everybody on constructive notice that they are dealing with an entity whose liability

4928-408: The corporation is determined by the portion of shares in the company that they own. Thus, a person who owns a quarter of the shares of a joint-stock company owns a quarter of the company, is entitled to a quarter of the profit (or at least a quarter of the profit given to shareholders as dividends) and has a quarter of the votes capable of being cast at general meetings. In another kind of corporation,

5016-632: The corporation is through stock, and owners of stock are referred to as stockholders or shareholders . Corporations not allowed to issue stock are referred to as non-stock corporations ; i.e. those who are considered the owners of a non-stock corporation are persons (or other entities) who have obtained membership in the corporation and are referred to as a member of the corporation. Corporations chartered in regions where they are distinguished by whether they are allowed to be for-profit are referred to as for-profit and not-for-profit corporations, respectively. Shareholders do not typically actively manage

5104-408: The corporation to designate its principal address, as well as a registered agent (a person or company designated to receive legal service of process). It may also be required to designate an agent or other legal representatives of the corporation. Generally, a corporation files articles of incorporation with the government, laying out the general nature of the corporation, the amount of stock it

5192-724: The early 1960s, and again during the Mod revival of the late 1970s – particularly in three-colour thick/thin stripe combinations, with three-button single-breasted front, five- or six-inch side or centre vents, and cuffs with multiple buttons. Various photos from 1964 and 1965 show London mods in boating blazers. Photos of mod icons The Who from 1964 (as the High Numbers ) variously show Pete Townshend , Keith Moon and John Entwistle wearing boating blazers. Another mod band, Small Faces , and other bands liked by mods – such as The Rolling Stones , The Beatles , The Kinks , Georgie Fame and

5280-520: The emperor. The concept of the corporation was revived in the Middle Ages with the recovery and annotation of Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis by the glossators and their successors the commentators in the 11th–14th centuries. Particularly important in this respect were the Italian jurists Bartolus de Saxoferrato and Baldus de Ubaldis , the latter of whom connected the corporation to

5368-422: The equivalent of unissued capital, where it is not classified as an asset on the balance sheet (passive capital). Under the internal affairs doctrine , the law of the jurisdiction in which a corporation is incorporated will govern its internal activities—that is, conflicts between shareholders and managers such as the board of directors and corporate officers. If a corporation operates outside its home state, it

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5456-550: The fact that the members of the association are no longer serving personnel, but civilians, though still retaining the bond that the badge represents. The standard colour is navy blue, although in some associations different colours are worn, such as rifle green for the associations of rifle regiments. Blazers, once commonly worn playing or attending traditional "gentlemen's sports", persist in only some games now, such as occasional use by tennis players, or in cricket, where in professional matches, such as international test matches, it

5544-722: The form of standardised and distinctive dress, intended for identification and display, are typically a sign of organised military forces equipped by a central authority. Most military forces have developed several different uniform types. Military personnel in most armed forces and some civilian officials may wear some or all of the following: combat uniform , service dress , dress uniform , full dress uniform , mess dress . Uniforms can distinguish various categories of staff in medical institutions: doctors, surgeons, nurses, ancillary staff and volunteers. Traditional female nurses' uniforms resemble uniforms ( habits ) worn by religious orders . Equipment - notably stethoscopes - worn like

5632-460: The government's behalf, bringing in revenue from its exploits abroad. Subsequently, the company became increasingly integrated with English and later British military and colonial policy, just as most corporations were essentially dependent on the Royal Navy 's ability to control trade routes. Labeled by both contemporaries and historians as "the grandest society of merchants in the universe",

5720-661: The history of companies was the 1897 decision of the House of Lords in Salomon v. Salomon & Co. where the House of Lords confirmed the separate legal personality of the company, and that the liabilities of the company were separate and distinct from those of its owners. In the United States , forming a corporation usually required an act of legislation until the late 19th century. Many private firms, such as Carnegie 's steel company and Rockefeller 's Standard Oil , avoided

5808-432: The idea of the corporation as legal persons can help to clarify the role of citizens as political stakeholders , and to break down the sharp conceptual dichotomy between the state and the people or the individual, a distinction that, on his account, is "increasingly unable to meet the demands placed on the state in the modern world". Other Blazer A blazer is a type of lightweight sport jacket . Originally

5896-650: The landmark 1856 Joint Stock Companies Act . This was subsequently consolidated with a number of other statutes in the Companies Act 1862, which remained in force for the rest of the century, up to and including the time of the decision in Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd . The legislation shortly gave way to a railway boom, and from then, the numbers of companies formed soared. In the later nineteenth century, depression took hold, and just as company numbers had boomed, many began to implode and fall into insolvency. Much strong academic, legislative and judicial opinion

5984-509: The language. The reefer jacket of naval origin, described the short double-breasted jacket worn by sailors in harsh weather, while performing duties such as reefing the sails. It is the descendants of these jackets that are now commonly referred by the term blazer . Originally featuring black horn buttons, these jackets evolved into the modern dark blazer, now available in both single and double-breasted styles, often with metallic buttons. Striped blazers became popular among British Mods in

6072-438: The larger set of symbols and artifacts in organizations, which coalesce into a communication grammar . Military uniform is the standardised costume worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and military styles have gone through great changes over the centuries from colourful and elaborate to utilitarian camouflage uniforms for field and battle purposes. Military uniforms in

6160-425: The legal document which established the corporation or which contains its current rules will determine the requirements for membership in the corporation. What these requirements are depends on the kind of corporation involved. In a worker cooperative , the members are people who work for the cooperative. In a credit union , the members are people who have accounts with the credit union. The day-to-day activities of

6248-532: The lives of any particular member, existing in perpetuity. The alleged oldest commercial corporation in the world, the Stora Kopparberg mining community in Falun , Sweden , obtained a charter from King Magnus Eriksson in 1347. In medieval times , traders would do business through common law constructs, such as partnerships . Whenever people acted together with a view to profit, the law deemed that

6336-417: The members of their boards. In Canada, this possibility is taken to its logical extreme: many smaller Canadian corporations have no names at all, merely numbers based on a registration number (for example, "12345678 Ontario Limited"), which is assigned by the provincial or territorial government where the corporation incorporates. In most countries, corporate names include a term or an abbreviation that denotes

6424-538: The metaphor of the body politic to describe the state . Early entities which carried on business and were the subjects of legal rights included the collegium of ancient Rome and the sreni of the Maurya Empire in ancient India. In medieval Europe, churches became incorporated, as did local governments, such as the City of London Corporation . The point was that the incorporation would survive longer than

6512-560: The person works does not have a laundry department or an outsourced commercial laundry . Corporate This is an accepted version of this page A corporation is an organization —usually a group of people or a company —authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of statute"; a legal person in a legal context) and recognized as such in law for certain purposes. Early incorporated entities were established by charter (i.e., by an ad hoc act granted by

6600-411: The public or on other third-parties. Such critics note that the legal mandate of the corporation to focus exclusively on corporate profits and self-interest often victimizes employees, customers, the public at large, and/or the natural resources . The political theorist David Runciman notes that corporate personhood forms a fundamental part of the modern history of the idea of the state , and believes

6688-407: The same names, a corporate name is a unique identifier only when combined with the name of the state of incorporation". This explains why lawyers in legal papers often expressly refer to a corporation's state of incorporation after the first mention of its name. Some jurisdictions do not allow the use of the word " company " alone to denote corporate status, since the word " company " may refer to

6776-431: The selling of publicly owned (or 'nationalised') services and enterprises to corporations. Deregulation (reducing the regulation of corporate activity) often accompanied privatization as part of a laissez-faire policy. A corporation is, at least in theory, owned and controlled by its members. In a joint-stock company the members are known as shareholders, and each of their shares in the ownership, control, and profits of

6864-500: The state, and they can themselves be responsible for human rights violations. Corporations can be "dissolved" either by statutory operation, the order of the court, or voluntary action on the part of shareholders. Insolvency may result in a form of corporate failure, when creditors force the liquidation and dissolution of the corporation under court order, but it most often results in a restructuring of corporate holdings. Corporations can even be convicted of special criminal offenses in

6952-581: The state, in 1896. In 1899, Delaware followed New Jersey's lead with the enactment of an enabling corporate statute, but Delaware only became the leading corporate state after the enabling provisions of the 1896 New Jersey corporate law were repealed in 1913. The end of the 19th century saw the emergence of holding companies and corporate mergers creating larger corporations with dispersed shareholders. Countries began enacting antitrust laws to prevent anti-competitive practices and corporations were granted more legal rights and protections. The 20th century saw

7040-402: The team's distinctive colors. In individual sports like tennis and golf, players may choose any clothing design allowed by the competition rules. To prevent the confusion (for officials, players, and fans) that might result from two opposing teams wearing uniforms (kits) with similar colors, teams have different variations for " home " and " away " games, where typically one is dark and the other

7128-403: The words of Baden-Powell at the 1937 World Jamboree, "it covers the differences of country and race and make all feel that they are members one with another of one World Brotherhood". The original uniform, which has created a familiar image in the public eye, consisted of a khaki button-up shirt , shorts and a broad-brimmed campaign hat . Baden-Powell himself wore shorts since being dressed like

7216-402: The youth contributed to reducing perceived "distance" between the adult and the young person. Nowadays, uniforms are frequently blue, orange, red, or green, and shorts are replaced by long pants in areas where the culture calls for modesty, and in winter weather. The campaign hats have also been dropped in some Scouting organisations. Some uniforms have specially- manufactured buttons, which, in

7304-550: Was limited liability. Limited liability separates control of a company from ownership and means that a passive shareholder in a corporation will not be personally liable either for contractually agreed obligations of the corporation, or for torts (involuntary harms) committed by the corporation against a third party (acts done by the controllers of the corporation). Where local law distinguishes corporations by their ability to issue stock , corporations allowed to do so are referred to as stock corporations ; one type of investment in

7392-484: Was opposed to the notion that businessmen could escape accountability for their role in the failing businesses. In 1892, Germany introduced the Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung with a separate legal personality and limited liability even if all the shares of the company were held by only one person. This inspired other countries to introduce corporations of this kind. The last significant development in

7480-454: Was possible only through a royal charter or a private act and was limited, owing to Parliament's jealous protection of the privileges and advantages thereby granted. As a result, many businesses came to be operated as unincorporated associations with possibly thousands of members. Any consequent litigation had to be carried out in the joint names of all the members and was almost impossibly cumbersome. Though Parliament would sometimes grant

7568-534: Was recognised by the same magazine more than 70 years later, when it claimed that, "[t]he economic historian of the future... may be inclined to assign to the nameless inventor of the principle of limited liability, as applied to trade corporations, a place of honour with Watt and Stephenson , and other pioneers of the Industrial Revolution. " These two features – a simple registration procedure and limited liability – were subsequently codified into

7656-417: Was the first speculative bubble the country had seen, but by the end of 1720, the bubble had "burst", and the share price sank from £1,000 to under £100. As bankruptcies and recriminations ricocheted through government and high society, the mood against corporations and errant directors was bitter. In the late 18th century, Stewart Kyd , the author of the first treatise on corporate law in English, defined

7744-549: Was the head coach of the Washington Redskins — first from 1981 to 1992, and again from 2004 to 2007 — the Redskins exclusively wore white jerseys at home games. In the United Kingdom , especially in football , the terms "kit" or "strip" (as in ' football kit ') are more common (instead of uniform). Domestic workers are often required by their employers-managers to wear a uniform. A prison uniform

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