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 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 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 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, 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 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. (359 words) Why did the chairman of Toshiba resign his position in 1987
A. Because in Japan, the leakage of a state secret to Russians is a grave crime.
Because he had been under attack for shifting responsibility to his subordinates.
C. Because in Japan, the chief executive of a corporation is held responsible for the mistake made by its subsidiaries.
D. Because he had been accused of being coward towards crises that were taking place in his corporation.
It is easier to negotiate initial salary requirement because once you are inside, the organizational constraints (约束) influence wage increases. One thing, however, is certain: your chances of getting the raise you feel you deserve are less if you don"t at least ask for it. Men tend to ask for more, and they get more, and this holds true with other resources, not just pay increases. Consider Beth"s story: I did not get what I wanted when I did not ask for it. We had cubicle (小隔间) offices and window offices. I sat in the cubicles with several male colleagues. One by one they were moved into window offices, while I remained in the cubicles. Several males who were hired after me also went to offices. One in particular told me he was next in line for an office and that it had been part of his negotiations for the job. I guess they thought me content to stay in the cubicles since I did not voice my opinion either way. It would be nice if we all received automatic pay increases equal to our merit, but "nice" isn"t a quality attributed to most organizations. If you feel you deserve a significant raise in pay, you"ll probably have to ask for it. Performance is your best bargaining chip (筹码) when you are seeking a raise. You must be able to demonstrate that you deserve a raise. Timing is also a good bargaining chip. If you can give your boss something he or she needs (a new client or a sizable contract, for example) just before merit pay decisions are being made, you are more likely to get the raise you want. Use information as a bargaining chip too. Find out what you are worth on the open market. What will someone else pay for your services Go into the negotiations prepared to place your chips on the table at the appropriate time and prepared to use communication style to guide the direction of the interaction. (345 words) We can learn from the passage that______.
A. unfairness exists in salary increases
B. most people are overworked and underpaid
C. one should avoid overstating one"s performance
D. most organizations give their staff automatic pay raises