The CoCa factor

A few days back, I found a group of my colleagues huddled around a laptop. They were staring at an email. When governments are increasingly becoming protectionist and isolationists, the workplaces are adopting an opposite approach. They are embracing inclusion and cultural tolerance. As a result, we cannot take emails at their face value but have to apply the cultural background of the person who wrote the email. I have stared at emails trying to fathom the intricacies of the mind of the sender. 

I checked the email. It was a response to an issue. The sender has suggested a few steps. After the completion of these proposed steps, he called everyone for a CoCa. Now, what is this CoCa? This question was haunting the caucus that formed around the laptop. Does this have a specific meaning in the sender's native tongue? Did he misspell cocoa? Is he proposing coffee? The coffee is a good idea. But there is a large landmass separating the sender, and the receiver after discounting the immigration formalities will pose as a deterrent.

The jury might be out on the question of which one is better - a single brain, or the collective brain. But in this particular case, the collective brain won the argument. Someone pointed out. CoCa stands for Conference Call.

Photo Courtesy: GraceOda