COOperation, Maruti style

One executive's designation may be another one's mystery. Indo-Japanese car venture Maruti Suzuki has solved the problem by giving its senior management two designations. Chief operating officers (COO) in the Indian subsidiary are designated senior managing executive officers for the benefit of their Japanese counterparts. "In India, COO is a better understood designation, but in Japan executives are conversant with the title of senior managing executive officer. We, therefore, have two sets of business cards," a senior executive explained.