Gung-Ho (1986)

The movie „Gung-Ho”, first launched in 1986, shows and puts emphasises the cross-
cultural conflict and the way two extremely different cultures come to work together, despite al
arguments that occured during the plot, and which, by the end of the movie relates with
someaspects of cultural transfer between them.
In essence, as the sole meaning of the movie title, the informal adjective „gung-ho” reflects
the eagerness of a person, which translates into an enthusiasm o of doing something. As the title,
there is stated as the most important thing for doing something is to have willl and to be positive
about this, so, the movie presents and accentuates the stereotypes of two cultures, extremely
opposite, like Americans and Japanese.
The plot of the movie is focused on a takeover, made by a Japanese company – Assam
Motors, after being persuaded by the main character, of an automotive manufacturing plant from
the small town of Hadleyville, USA, wich supplied the most jobs in the town and stayed closed
for 9 months. The takeover comes with the reconversion of the hole production process in a way
that could satisfy Japanese standards about quality and volume. This movie influenced some
companies in their way of doing business abroad, especially in the USA, as example, it is known
that Toyota used the film as an example of how not to manage Americans.
As from a cultural perspective, there are revealed the biggest differences between
Americans and Japanese. Cross-cultural management present challenges and if the cultural
differences are understood and embraced, there can be a success in doing business. The most
important aspect in cross-cultural management is knowledge and the need to regard all aspects
when it comes to get good result, have content employees and a productive workplace.
As shown from the begining, concerning Geert Hopstede cultural dimensions, there a clear
differences between the two countries. As for that, the presentation scene says a lot about the nature
of the culture, making a point in saying that Japan has a High-Context culture, in which the use of
silence has a great importance and how they treat all things with respect and professionalism- that
can be seen in the way that they have a respectfull aproach on declining and rejecting suggestions.
Americans tend to to use a low context (direct) communication style in comparison to the high
context (indirect) style of the Japanese. The main character uses low context “straight talk” several
times in the movie, even though he often begins by “beating around the bush.” An example is
when he goes to Japan to sell the Assan managers on the idea of coming to Hadleyville. He starts
with a slide presentation, notices he isn’t getting much of a response, then decides to cut to the
chase. He says, “Look, here’s the deal,” explaining bluntly that Hadleyville needs the Japanese
and that the Americans will work hard if they come over. The Japanese don’t say anything, so
Hunt thinks he has failed (silence is generally regarded negatively in low-context cultures). When
Assan decides to come to Hadleyville, Hunt is shocked: a case of intercultural misunderstanding.
When in comes to emotions, it is clear that Japanes tend to have a neutral approach, their
affectivness is regarded as a weak spot, as can be seen in the scene of the management trainee
program- when for explaining the ribbons of shame, the first managers shows weakness when it
says that he haves a family to support, fapt that attracted a prelonged punishment. As for the
Americans, they are more affective, they care about family and easily express emotions, but at the
same time they try to remain rational in decision making.
In the movie can be seen great differences between the normal American family and the
Japanese, as concerning the role of every individual. In the same manner there can be made a
consideration regarding the gender equality and gender roles. As we see, Japanese women is shown
as being nurturing and taking care of the house, in spite the American ones that are contrary the
opposite, the most revealing scene is the that of the dinner, when, in the moment men start to talk
about work, the women rose from table and left the room, as the main character girlfriend refused
to do so.
As when it comes to the way they do business, Japanese tend to be transactional as they
focuse primarely on numbers and bottom line results (like the defect rate) as the Americans have
a more transformational way, based more on the individual and his abilities, the power to energize
and inspire employees, and especialy on a system of trust between managers and employees.
When it cames to the cross-cultural transfer, the main two characters- Hunt and Kazihiro,
show the biggest changes as regarding their behaviour and way of seeing life. As for that, Kazihiro
becamos more like as an American manger, becomes more nurturing and disregards the Japanese way
of living for the company. As for Hunt, he understad that work ethics and respect and understanding
of others are also important.
Based on the movie, it is easy to say that Americans and Japanese are alike ethnocentric and
only want to know about their culture and we can conclude that a cross-cultural study is very
important, not only in having a relationship but also in economic and business, because most of the
misunderstandings come from not knowing what others think about it.
 Outsourced (2006)

This movie is all about the current global economy and haw cost control imposes to some
companies to their economic activity to developing countries. Outsourced was released for the first
time in 2006 and is a comedy that shows different aspects about cultural shock and how to change
mentalities.
The main character- Todd is, as a consequence of closing a call-center from Seattle, sent
to India to train the staff of the newly opened call-center in Mumbai that is supposed to take over
the activity. The leading actor- Todd Anderson, is a Western Novelty’s executive vice president
of marketing and order fulfillment, has experienced an interesting journey from cultural shock to
adjustment when he contacts to a new culture of India.
The difference between American and Indian cultures makes Todd fall down in culture
shock. Culture shock is shown clearly in both mental and physical Todd’s symptoms from the
first moment he sets his foot on India. There are many different definitions of culture shock such
as “sense of confusion, discomfort, disorientation, and uncertainty felt by those exposed to a
different cultural environment”-(business dictionary). Culture shock exactly means the impact you
may feel when you enter a culture very different from one to which you are accustomed. Culture
shock includes five stages that people may experience. Firstly it is honeymoon period (excitement
and fascination with the new culture). Second is culture shock where excitement turns into
disappointment and more and more differences occuring.The third stage is initial adjustment where
they learn to accept the culture and to change their negative attitude to a positive one. The fourth
is mental isolation where individual feel lonely and can’t express themselves as well as they could
in their native languages. And the last is acceptance and adaptation phase where they will feel at
home and become involved in activities and may enjoy some of that countries customs. From the
moment the protagonist, Todd Anderson, arrives in India (Bombay and later Gharapuri), the
viewer lives through the new experiences that Todd confronts. The film’s visual detail and
soundtrack featuring Indianstyle music combine to transport the viewer to Todd’s new world. On
arrival, Todd faces a chaotic transportation system, having to jump onto a crowded moving train,
and later chasing after his suitcase which is thrown into a small auto-rickshaw, or as Todd calls it,
“one of those taxi go-cart thingies.” He immediately observes different customs, beginning with a
man urinating by the side of the road and continuing to the street boy who pesters him and later
snatches his cell phone. At the ragtag building that has been built to house the call center where
Todd will work, a cow appears in one of the offices in one comic scene where Todd stands
flabbergasted, while his Indian counterpart (Puro) remains unfazed by the cow’s presence.
Different food, language, and marriage practices are especially prominent in the film. In the realm
of food, Todd eats gola from a street vendor, and his subsequent stomach problems become fodder
for future comic scenes. When he is offered a snack at the guest house where he stays, Todd makes
the cultural faux pas of eating with his left hand, considered the unclean “toilet” hand in many
parts of the world. At one point, feeling obvious pangs of homesickness, Todd craves a
cheeseburger and travels to Bombay by taxi to visit what he thinks will be a McDonald’s, only to
find out that he has arrived at an imitation fast food restaurant that serves only “maharajah veggie
burgers” and the like.
In the film, Todd has a straight-talking style that reflects a low-context culture. For
example, when Todd is first taken to the ramshackle building that houses the call center in
Gharapuri, he does not hide his reaction: “Oh, you gotta be kidding me. This is it?” he asks Puro.
Similarly, Todd does not hide his dissatisfaction with the call center’s high MPI, the average
number of minutes per incident spent to resolve each call: “Why is the MPI so bad?” he asks.
“Puro, this place is a disaster.” In contrast, Todd’s Indian counterparts reflect a high-context
culture. For example, when Todd asks Puro if he can take a long trip to recover a shipment that
has been sent to the wrong location, Puro declines the request in a very indirect manner, in line
with collectivists’ concern for maintaining social harmony. “No problem,” he says. “But first I
must sleep for two hours, so that I can come back for the interviews with the new agents, and then
I must make sure that my mother gets to the hospital.”
Individualistic cultures “offer their members a great deal of freedom, the belief being that
this freedom makes it possible for each person to achieve personal success” (Adler & Elmhorst,
2008, p. 48). Members tend to “put their own interests and those of their immediate family ahead
of social concerns” (p. 48). In contrast, members of collectivist cultures “have tight social
frameworks in which members of a group . . . feel primary loyalty toward one another and the
group to which they belong” (p. 48). Todd has his own apartment in Seattle, he lives alone, and he
is ambitious and consumption-oriented. As he explains to Puro: “In my world, it just makes sense
to work your ass off and go into credit card debt just so you can have that 50-inch plasma.” Todd
also does not see his parents often, even though they live only 2 hours away from him. This news
stuns Puro, who also cannot understand why Todd continues to work for a company and a boss he
dislikes. Todd and Puro are at opposite ends of the individualism-collectivism continuum.The low
power distance characteristic associated with American culture is revealed in the totally
uninhibited way in which Todd speaks to his boss, Dave. On different occasions, Todd calls Dave
a “corporate slime-ball” and a “cheap bastard.” Todd’s demonstration of low power distance
contrasts with the deferential way in which his Indian employees address him, using Mr. Todd and
Sir.
The India culture is very different from American culture and huge culture gap is between
them. A culture hap is any systematic difference between two cultures which hinders mutual
understandings or relations. Such differences include the religions, beliefs, customs, traditions,
languages, ceremonies, arts, values and the way of life. Mutual musunderstandings and
incomprehension have aroused between people from differing backgrounds and experiences.