Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (35 minutes) Passage One Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.
In 1985 when a Japan 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 sole 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 give both responsibility and authority to their employees, Japanese executives delegate 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 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, even 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 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.
21. Why did the chairman of Toshiba resign his position in 1987? A) In Japan, the leakage of a slate secret to Russians is a grave came. 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.
22. 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
23. What's Professor George Lodge's attitude towards the resignations of Japanese corporate leaders? A) Sympathetic C) Critical B) Biased. D) Approving.
24. 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.
25. 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
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, even 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.
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.
