Cultural Analysis of "Scandal Upends Toshiba's Lauded Reputation."

For my blog post I will be analyzing the article "Scandal Upends Toshiba's Lauded Reputation," published in The New York Times, which will also be the article my next project is centered around. First I will look at keywords from the article, then will discuss the thesis, and finally will look at how these two components effect the argument.

 Nogi, Credit

Kazuhiro. "Toshiba's Chief Executive..." 10/02/15 via Getty Images. 

The three keywords I chose were governance, inflating, and shares. These three ideas have everything to do with the controversy. Governance deals with the leadership of Toshiba, and those in positions of power. Inflating, in this context, has to do with Toshiba tampering with their accounts, to raise their profits to higher than actual. Finally, shares have to do with those invested in the company.

The thesis of the article is that the scandal and immorality involved with Toshiba has tarnished its reputation. Known as one of the more upright, honest, and straightforward companies for many years, the discovery of inflated profits ruins Toshiba's clean record and honest name.

First, governance is key to the argument of the article, because it makes it clear that the whole system of power in Toshiba was aware of the controversial activity in their company. The governance of Toshiba are those who were making decisions to lie, and then covered up their illegal activity. For a majority of those in power to have knowledge of shady accounts only adds to the tarnishing of Toshiba's reputation.

Inflation supports the argument because it explains exactly what it was that Toshiba was doing that was controversial. Understanding how Toshiba was being deceptive also helps the audience realize why their reputation as an upstanding company was ruined.

Finally, shares have to do with why the issue was so controversial. Many who invested in Toshiba were deceived by falsely inflated profit reports, and so invested in a company they thought was doing well, making what they believed to be a smart investment. In actuality Toshiba was struggling, and people were losing money on their investments, creating harsh public backlash when the public realized the fraud that was occurring. This shows how widespread the black stain on Toshiba's reputation spread after they were discovered.

The audience supports the argument because of these key words for three reasons. First, governance helps them realize the depth of the controversy and deception. Second, inflation informs them of what exactly was occurring that was so dishonest. Finally, shares show them why it is such a big issue, and why so many people were in an outcry about Toshiba. By understanding the controversy more thoroughly, the audience will also understand why it was such a harm to Toshiba's reputation.