Scenario

You are a Japanese senior manager and your newly hired European direct report has made a mistake. This is not a small matter. You see that he is working to correct the mistake, but you are concerned because he shows no responsibility in his attitude—he hasn’t clearly apologized. What is the core issue here?

•  b

  The direct report might be a hard worker but has an attitude problem.

•  c

  This is an HR issue.

•  a

  The manager is applying Japanese business protocol and wanting an apology to show sincerity. This is a cultural filter and may not be the correct assumption for the manager to make.