One hopes the newbie will jog on swiftly.
Phil R asks a very valid question and one that would be difficult to debate in this sort of forum. A couple of random points however..
Don't let service tradition (pomp and ceremony), folklore and banter disguise service reality. There is a great deal of commonality between the leadership and management structures of the military and any other hierarchical organisations. The military just adds a lot of window dressing to the process, which in reality often counts for very little. And just as the military has its hierarchical peculiarities, so do many other large organisations.
Strict rank boundaries are not essential to an effective fighting force and in many cases are often detrimental. The British military has a long and proud history of delegating command downwards under operational conditions and in many instance does this far more effectively than a comparable civilian organistion would. Step away from the British way of doing things and you will some extremely effective fighting forces where rank structure is based almost entirely on military proficency and very little else. The PAVN in the Vietnam war springs to mind.