In 1985 when a Janan Air Lines（JAL）jet crashed，its president，Yasumoto Takagi，called each victim’s family to apologize，and then promptly resigned. And in 1987，when a subsidiary of Toshiba sold sensitive military technology to the former Soviet Union，the chairman of Toshiba gave up his post.
These executive actions，which Toshiba calls“the highest form of apology，”may seem bizarre to US managers. No one at Boeing resigned after the JAL crash，which may have been caused by a faulty Boeing repair.
The difference between the two business cultures centers around different definitions of delegation. While US executives only authority—the responsibility is still theirs. Although the subsidiary that sold the sensitive technology to the Soviets had its own management，the Toshiba top executives said they “must take personal responsibility for not creating an atmosphere throughout the Toshiba group that would make such activity unthinkable，even in an independently run subsidiary.”
Such acceptance of community responsibility is not unique to businesses in Japan. School principals in Japan have resigned when their students committed major crimes after school hours. Even if they do not quit，Japanese executives will often accept primary responsibility in other ways，such as taking the first pay cut when a company gets into financial trouble. Such personal sacrifices，enve if they are largely symbolic，help to create the sense of community and employee loyalty that is crucial to the Japanese way of doing business.
Harvard Business School professor George Lodge calls the ritual acceptance of blame “almost a feudal（封建的）way of purging（清除）the community of dishonor，”and to some in the United States，such resignations look cowardly. However，in an era in which both business and governmental leaders seem particularly good at evading responsibility，many US managers would probably welcome an infusion（灌输）of the Japanese sense of responsibility. If，for instance，US automobile company executives offered to reduce their own salaries before they asked their workers to take pay cuts，negotiations would probably take on a very different character.
1. Why did the chairman of Toshiba resign his position in 1987？
A. In Japan，the leakage of a state secret to Russians is a grave crime.
B. He had been under attack for shifting responsibility to his subordinates.
C. In Japan，the chief executive of a corporation is held responsible for the mistake made by its subsidiaries.
D. He had been accused of being cowardly towards crises that were taking place in his corporation.
2. According to the passage，if you want to be a good manager in Japan，you have to .
A. apologize promptly for your subordinates’ mistakes.
B. be skillful in accepting blames from customers.
C. make symbolic sacrifices whenever necessary.
D. create a strong sense of company loyalty.
3. What’s Professor George Lodge’s attitude towards the resignations of Japanese corporate leaders？
A. Sympathetic.
B. Biased.
C. Critical.
D. Approving.
4. Which of the following statements is TRUE？
A. Boeing had nothing to do with the JAL air crash in 1985.
B. American executives consider authority and responsibility inseparable.
C. School principals bear legal responsibility for students’ crimes.
D. Persuading employees to take pay cuts doesn’t help solve corporate crises.
5. The passage is mainly about .
A. resignation as an effective way of dealing with business crises.
B. the importance of delegating responsibility to employees.
C. ways of evading responsibility in times of crises.
D. the difference between two business cultures.
These executive actions，which Toshiba calls“the highest form of apology，”may seem bizarre to US managers. No one at Boeing resigned after the JAL crash，which may have been caused by a faulty Boeing repair.
The difference between the two business cultures centers around different definitions of delegation. While US executives only authority—the responsibility is still theirs. Although the subsidiary that sold the sensitive technology to the Soviets had its own management，the Toshiba top executives said they “must take personal responsibility for not creating an atmosphere throughout the Toshiba group that would make such activity unthinkable，even in an independently run subsidiary.”
Such acceptance of community responsibility is not unique to businesses in Japan. School principals in Japan have resigned when their students committed major crimes after school hours. Even if they do not quit，Japanese executives will often accept primary responsibility in other ways，such as taking the first pay cut when a company gets into financial trouble. Such personal sacrifices，enve if they are largely symbolic，help to create the sense of community and employee loyalty that is crucial to the Japanese way of doing business.
Harvard Business School professor George Lodge calls the ritual acceptance of blame “almost a feudal（封建的）way of purging（清除）the community of dishonor，”and to some in the United States，such resignations look cowardly. However，in an era in which both business and governmental leaders seem particularly good at evading responsibility，many US managers would probably welcome an infusion（灌输）of the Japanese sense of responsibility. If，for instance，US automobile company executives offered to reduce their own salaries before they asked their workers to take pay cuts，negotiations would probably take on a very different character.
1. Why did the chairman of Toshiba resign his position in 1987？
A. In Japan，the leakage of a state secret to Russians is a grave crime.
B. He had been under attack for shifting responsibility to his subordinates.
C. In Japan，the chief executive of a corporation is held responsible for the mistake made by its subsidiaries.
D. He had been accused of being cowardly towards crises that were taking place in his corporation.
2. According to the passage，if you want to be a good manager in Japan，you have to .
A. apologize promptly for your subordinates’ mistakes.
B. be skillful in accepting blames from customers.
C. make symbolic sacrifices whenever necessary.
D. create a strong sense of company loyalty.
3. What’s Professor George Lodge’s attitude towards the resignations of Japanese corporate leaders？
A. Sympathetic.
B. Biased.
C. Critical.
D. Approving.
4. Which of the following statements is TRUE？
A. Boeing had nothing to do with the JAL air crash in 1985.
B. American executives consider authority and responsibility inseparable.
C. School principals bear legal responsibility for students’ crimes.
D. Persuading employees to take pay cuts doesn’t help solve corporate crises.
5. The passage is mainly about .
A. resignation as an effective way of dealing with business crises.
B. the importance of delegating responsibility to employees.
C. ways of evading responsibility in times of crises.
D. the difference between two business cultures.
