This essay places some of the blame for the botched handling of the recent Toyota quality issues with cultural and legal environments found in Japan.  Admitting to mistakes and acting swiftly and publicly to rectify them is unheard of to the point that crisis-management is not considered in planning in Japan as it is elsewhere.  Despite the global nature of our economy, it is interesting to see the impact of culture and legal environments on company practices…even a company the size of Toyota, the #1 auto-maker in the world.  Failure to plan for these kinds of situations might be enough to drop them back to #2…by the sounds of it, Toyota management might welcome that if they could reestablish their image as quality-king with consumers.

Essay: A Crisis Made In Japan. Jeff Kingston. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Feb 6, 2010. pg. W.1