MOVIE REFLECTION

Gung-Ho (1986)

JUNE 25, 2019

The context of the film ‘Gung Ho’ is a clash of American and Japanese cultures when Assan

Motors Corporation of Japan takes over a closed-down automobile manufacturing plant in the

district of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. The movie presents a unique juxtaposition of the cultures of

the Japanese and the Americans, as the Japanese assume the leadership position in the business

engagement, ‘commanding’ American workers on the shop floor. The workplace participants

from the two countries in the movie present different ideas about work, which are often

contrasting. While the Japanese consider ‘work’ as the primary mode of life and value loyalty

towards the company, the Americans consider ‘work’ to just be a part of life and value personal

and family time.

One cannot also help but notice the cultural and economic milieu in which the film is set in.

During the 1980s, the Japanese economy was in boom with the rise of its manufacturing

companies such as Toyota which created benchmarks in management and engineering. The

principles of the Japanese that are the basis of revolutionary managerial practices such as ‘Total

Quality Management’ which focusses on zero-defects and zero-waste, are very much rooted in

their culture. (This system is depicted in the film when the Japanese managers are shown to

expect zero defects from the workers at the plant.)

On the other hand, the Americans as depicted in the film are in a situation in which they are

reliant on the Japanese for jobs due to economic turmoil at home evidenced by the fact that

many people try to move out of the town. Yet, they are shown to believe in values such as

freedom, equal economic opportunity and having a do-or-die attitude (stated during Hunt

Stevenson’s speeches during 4th of July picnic and townhall meetings).

Cultural Products

The two cultures are manifested in various cultural products seen throughout the film. A few

American cultural products seen were the Fourth of July Picnic, with tangible aspects such as
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food, fireworks and a gathering of the town and intangible values such as freedom, equality

and the sense of community. Other products of American culture visible in the movie are the

Softball Game during the weekend with its visible aspects of food and sport and intangible

aspects of family, community and freedom. Products of the Japanese culture visible were the

Capsule Hotels and the Shinkansen Bullet Train (both seen during Hunt’s sojourn in Japan).

The visible aspect of these products is speedy & convenient travel/accommodation while the

entrenched values are the Asian values of efficiency over luxury, thrift and contented living.

Stereotypes related to culture

It is very important for a global manager to understand and adapt to the culture and management

practices of another country. However, due to a lack of this understanding, we see several

gaffes committed by characters from both the countries in the film. Very often, we

generalizations or stereotypes about another culture due to incomplete information1.

Sometimes these stereotypes are exhibited in hurtful and awkward ways. When Hunt Stevenson

begins his speech to Assan Motor executives in Japan, he portrays his limited understanding of

the modern Japanese workplace through statements such as , “This place has a real oriental feel

to it”, “Do you speak English, I’m just curious”, “I guess you guys have a long day of staring

ahead of you” . All these statements by the American might have been offensive to the Japanese

executives, although they are unintentional stereotypes. Another stereotype by the Americans

observed in the film is the use of ‘Red Dragons’ by the townsfolk to welcome the Japanese

delegation at the airport. It is a clear cultural misappropriation as dragons are cultural products

of the Chinese. In another instance, Hunt uses the words, “That’s why you lost the big one”

referring to the Japanese loss of the World War II. This statement is also really offensive to the

Japanese.
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It is also important for members at all levels of the organization to be sensitized about the

cultures of other participants in the business or workplace. The Japanese managers are

criticized frequently by the American workers during instances such as them bathing together

in a lake or eating with chopsticks or being unable to speak in perfect english.

Cultural Clashes

There are also several instances of cultural misunderstandings between the Americans and the

Japanese in the film, which resulted from a lack of understanding about the culture and cultural

products of each other. The first instance is observed during Hunt’s presentation to the

Japanese. At the end of his presentation he says, “I am sure you guys have a lot of questions,

so go crazy.” He does not understand why the Japanese are silent to the question and takes it

to be failure of talks. The underlying idea from this scene of the movie is that while Americans

expect constant arguments and logical discussion during meetings, the Japanese value harmony

and are reluctant to disturb the flow of the speaker. Another instance is when the Japanese

delegates and American townspeople remove their shoes on the red-carpet that is used to

welcome the visitors. What the Americans did not understand is that the Japanese are used to

walking barefoot indoors and on carpets while the Japanese failed to understand that the Red

Carpet is a cultural symbol in the western world that is meant to welcome dignitaries. One

more scene where this happens is where Hunt Stevenson gets confused with the Japanese

executives handing him their visiting cards and introducing themselves by their name and title,

which is a practice in Japanese business.

Dimensions of Culture

The various Hofstede’s dimensions of the two culture as depicted in the movie are as follows:
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1.Equality/Power-distance:

Based on scenes from the film, one can understand that the culture of the Japanese is one of

High Power Distance. The bosses are expected to be the highest authority and are treated with

undue reverence. When Hunt Stevenson speaks honestly with his boss Mr. Kazihiro, he fires

him on the spot as he has been questioned. In another instance, during the soft ball game, when

an American worker gets aggressive and hits a Japanese player, he gets shifted to a menial job

the next day for the disrespect shown by him. Another trait of such high PDI cultures is

nepotism which is seen through the induction into the management team of Mr. Saito, who is

the nephew of the boss.

On the other hand, the American culture is shown to be having a low power distance. The

bosses are expected to communicate on equal terms with their employees and the employees

raise questions without any fear of reproach. This is evidenced by the scene where Hunt

Stevenson goes down from the podium to motivate his employees to do the calisthenic

exercises. Also, the open townhall conducted wherein the workers could ask questions to the

management is another evidence from the movie. All though the film, we also see the American

workers freely questioning the American as well as Japanese managers.

In contrast, India has a high PDI culture. A person’s self-worth is decided by the rank of the

person in society which is further dependent of age, gender, caste, credentials and wealth 2. In

the work-place, the boss is considered a patriarchal figure and the employee shows respect and

compliance 2. It is also accepted that the boss takes all the decisions and conducts business

during meetings 2. This attitude is perceived as subservient by people of low PDI cultures.

2. Relationships / Individualism-Collectivism:

Japan is seen to be a collectivist society with the presence of strong cohesive in-groups

observed by the way the employees of Assan Motors from Japan band together. The belief that
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of the Japanese that is repeated throughout the movie is evidence for this collectivism –

‘Workers must think as one and think only of the company’. Further, the workers in Japan are

said to feel ashamed if there are defects in the goods they produce, and often put the company

first by working overtime without pay if the company faces losses. Also, it is observed that no

worker is considered as special by the Japanese and that all workers had to learn all the jobs on

the production line. Also, failed Japanese managers undergo rigorous and humiliating training

wherein they wear Ribbons of Shame.

The other side of the coin says that the Americans are highly individualistic. The evidence from

the movie is when a particular trait of the American workers is noticed by Mr. Kazihiro,

“American workers feel that they are special”. For the Americans, personal time and family

time are important (which is a hallmark of individualistic societies). This is evidenced from the

scene where Mr. Kazihiro’s wife asks him to be more like an American father and dedicate his

time to his family and when an American worker asks for leave to ‘see his kid who is getting

his tonsils out’.

India also has a collectivist culture. There exist various in-groups in the society, yet one can

pursue one’s individualistic goals. An important aspect of the definition of this dimension of

culture is the value for family and personal time – which is very high in India.

3. Masculinity-Femininity:

The Japanese are seen to be relatively masculine as compared to the Americans in the film. The

gender roles of men and women are seen to be distinct and separate. In the scene after the

dinner where the men discuss business, the Japanese women leave their seats. In contrast,

Audrey stays on at her seat and discusses business with the men. In other words, the roles of

men and women overlap in American society. Also, Japanese exhibit a ‘reward for the strong’

mentality and are focussed on work even under stress. Failing to do one’s job well (defects) is
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seen as a major embarrassment for the Japanese worker. Empathising with employees is seen

as a failing of a manager and he is sent for management training programs where he wears

ribbons of shame.

Also, going by the definition of feminine nations, the U.S has a relatively less masculine culture

as compared to Japan as the workers work to live rather than the opposite. India exhibits a

feminine culture (Hofstede’s score comparable to that of the U.S) because of the fact that the

workers focus more on life rather than work. Also, the gender roles are converging.

4. Uncertainty Avoidance:

From the movie, we can see that the Japanese culture is wary of uncertainty and therefore have

numerous rules and regulations around their work as well as personal life. Mr. Saito reprimands

the workers on the assembly line when they work as per their own personal methods. He says

that each task is to be done in a particular order. He also mentions that the workers are not

supposed to smoke or talk but just focus on methodical work. The famed Japanese management

techniques abhor defects. In fact, defects by workers are penalized (Buster is transferred to

custodial work due to a high number of defects in his work). Also, the organizations are very

hierarchical and the concept of lifetime employment is prevalent in Japan given this need for

order and structure and distrust of ambiguity 2.

On the other hand, Americans are observed to be culture more tolerant of uncertainty. An

American worker argues with a Japanese executive who points out to a defect in his work that

it was the job of the dealership to worry about. Indians are less anxious about uncertainty as

compared to the Americans. (Hofstede’s Index is 40 compared to 46 of the U.S.A). It might be

due to the fact that Indians live comfortably with chaos existing in the society.

5. Long Term Orientation:

The Japanese, like most east Asian nations, exhibit a long-term orientation. In the movie, we

see various instances where the Japanese exhibit perseverance (seen by the persevering

managers going through the tough management program), respect for tradition, fulfilling social

obligations and protecting one’s face (see through the dilemmas that Mr. Kazihiro faces while

deciding what is best for his employees vis-à-vis his bosses’ orders) 2.

Similar to this, Indians exhibit a long-term orientation. Most Indians mostly only on essentials,

persevere to achieve goals in life, respect traditions and work hard to fulfil the social obligations

thrust on them 2. The Americans in the film, on the other hand, are seen to live paycheck-by-

paycheck and week-by-week. They are satisfied with a partial raise in their income when they

believe that producing 13,000 cars would entail to at least half the raise. They are more

concerned with living their personal life than persevering to achieve the full 15,000 in

production which would lead to future monetary benefits for them.

Apart from these dimensions of culture, various other aspects of culture such as thinking styles

are visible during the course of the film. Prof. Richard Nisbett’s theory of thinking styles is

validated to some extent by this. For example: The Japanese (Asians) focus on collective

agency and harmonious relationships between people 2.This is seen by the excessive focus of

Assan Motor executives on collective responsibility towards work. The Americans encourage

personal agency, curiosity and debate 2. This is evidenced by the fact that the workers on the

assembly line consider themselves special and experts in each of the areas of work. They also

fight for their own wages and raise their voice against management for any perceived injustice.

Roots of culture and management styles

The two cultures have perhaps emerged as what they are today because of the paths followed

by the respective civilizations towards their current states. The U.S is a land of immigrants who

fled from persecution in Europe. They occupied the vast lands of the native American tribes.
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The land was basically the property of someone who grabbed it first 2. Perhaps this is the reason

why the Americans have such an individualistic culture

The two styles of management – American and Japanese – have strong cultural underpinnings.

The Americans believe in a free market economy. They value individual achievement. They

focus on getting tasks done rather than developing relationships with people 2. The companies

in the U.S value the shareholder more than the customer or the employee. The Japanese on the

other hand are very customer-centric 2.They therefore promote a zero tolerance towards

defects. In traditional Indian companies, the top management is the centre of decisions and

action 2. This shows India has a culture with a very high power distance.

Conclusion

The movie ‘Gung-Ho’ shows the importance of understanding and recognizing the impact of

various cultures on business. It is a perfect description of how a culture-clash could derail a

well laid-out economic plan. The problem originated with both the Japanese managers as well

as the American workers exhibiting ‘Ethno-centricity’ wherein they regarded their way of

doing things as the right way and the only way to do things. They also use the ‘Self-Reference’

criterion to judge the other’s culture with the yardstick of their own 2. These issues should have

been avoided by a bridging together the two cultures. A convergence of the two cultures was

seen towards the end of the film where Japanese managers also start working on the assembly

line forgetting hierarchy and also start enjoying their work. Also, the boss Mr. Sakamoto

appreciates the work done by the cross-cultural team, forgetting the rigid commitment to

defects. The Americans also start to appreciate the work-ethic of the Japanese. This brings us

to the lesson that - A global manager or a global worker has to understand, respect and adopt

the culture and style of the other cultures they are working with to unlock synergies within the
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organization. A disregard for such cross-cultural sensitization and integration is bound to leave

the organization in the dust, while the competitors take off.

References:

1. Class-room sessions, Prof. Ritu Tripati, IIM B

2. Cross-Cultural Management, Shobhana Madhavan, Oxford University Press