Sam Sheppard Was Recently Promoted to the Position of Senior

Sam Sheppard was recently promoted to the position of Senior Communication Specialist in a large pharmaceutical company in the Midwestern United States that had international subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. His primary function was to oversee cross-functional teams that maintained close links with team members at various sites around the world in order to ensure that their communications transmitted consistent and appropriate messages for the organization.
Teams in each of the global areas were a mixture of people from different cultures. The U.S. team of communication specialists consisted of two men from the U.S., one man from Britain, one Japanese man who was new to the organization, and one British woman. After an unusually long and difficult project, Sheppard determined that the team needed a break and organized a company dinner at the completion of the project which, despite all of the setbacks, actually ended on schedulE. It was important as a new director for him to show his sincere appreciation as well as maintain the morale of the group. Each of the team members was encouraged to bring along their spousE. The stress of the past few months appeared to evaporate as team members and guests laughed and conversed freely. Toward the end of the dinner celebration, Sheppard stood up to make a toast to the group and singled out the team member from Japan, Mr. Yasuko Futaba, saying that if he hadn't joined the team at just the right time to offer his technical expertise, the group would not have succeeded.
-Sam thought it a bit awkward when Mr. Futaba simply nodded his head but didn't smile despite the cheers and good wishes from the other team members, one of whom gave him a good natured slap on the back, claiming that "he saved the day." Mr. Futaba's wife seemed embarrassed and lowered her eyes. With glasses raised high by all of the guests seated at the table, some glanced nervously at each other until one of the team members broke the silence by expressing his gratitude to the group. Others joined in, the conversations resumed and the evening ended well despite this awkward moment. Sam was disappointed with the unexpected reaction of Mr. Futaba….Why do you think Sam was confused about Yasuko's reaction?

A) Sam perceived his own individual identity through achievement, so he didn't understand why Yasuko didn't as well.
B) Sam was stuck in the 'us versus them' mentality and thought Yasuko was ungrateful.
C) Sam thought Yasuko was being uncooperative - the team depended on him.
D) None of these answers.