[jvagner]

There are usually two sides to this.. in some organizations, people really care about their own titles.

In other organizations, especially bigger ones, "Senior" and "Principal" and other kinds of add-ons to titles come with certain perks or responsibilities. For instance, if you're a "Senior" something at a big company I've worked at, you get a slightly bigger cube near the window/outer wall. This can only go to employees, not contractors, too.

The kind view on this is that it cuts down on disputes and disagreements on who gets what, and where, and why.