[st1x7]

> There is a very strong sense in which whole "asking your manager" thing is a mere formality—it's very unlikely to be declined if the title you're asking for is remotely appropriate (and, to be honest, often even if it isn't.)

That's interesting, I really didn't think that it's that common. In many companies this ranges from very difficult to completely impossible and certainly isn't just a formality. I guess that we have just been exposed to very different types of company/management.

[FBT]

That's very likely true. The context I was talking about probably rounds to "companies with <100 employees", or perhaps at order of magnitude larger at most. I'd imagine that it's quite different in organizations bigger than that. (Not that it's _quite_ accurate to round attitude off to size, but it's probably close enough.)