In the west (very generally speaking) you alert your superiors real fast in case of problems. Mostly to cover your own behind (by making other people complicit)

In the west (very generally speaking) you alert your superiors real fast in case of problems. Mostly to cover your own behind (by making other people complicit). In the east (again, very generally speaking) you alert your superiors only when you yourself are in way over your head. Failing means losing face. In power structures where there is a single entity which controls all the high level positions (ie. a single party) the incentive to bury problems becomes real high. So I guess it might actually be not that inaccurate.