I FEEL bad whenever strangers mispronounce my four-letter first name. It is my identity as a natural being, and hearing it correctly is music to my ears. During exorcism rites, the priest cannot even summon the devil without a specific name. But 'what's in a name?' Shakespeare's famous tragedy highlighted the immortal question of how to distinguish a Capulet from a Montague. Similar to the proposal of renaming the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the Philippines to Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas in House Bill 7031, the argument settles that it can be meaningless sometimes as 'a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.'

These ideas were playing in my head when I conversed with a friend who works for a multinational company headquartered in Rockwell, Makati City. When I asked for details about their human resources department, he quickly corrected me that they do not have one, but instead, there is P&C, which stands for people and culture. I was taken aback when I heard it for the first time. Since I was unaware of the name change, my curious self researched and found progressive concepts.