6/25/2019

Gung-Ho
Movie Reflection from Cultural Lens

Nitesh Kumar Singh

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Table of Contents
1 Synopsis..................................................................................................................................................2

2 What comes first? Personal Life or the Company? ..................................................................................2

3 Inter-cultural and Organizational cultural challenges using Hofstede’s 6-dimensional analysis. .............4
3.1 Power Distance .................................................................................................................................... 4
3.2 Individualism ........................................................................................................................................ 5
3.3 Masculinity vs Feminism ...................................................................................................................... 6
3.4 Uncertainty Avoidance ........................................................................................................................ 6
3.5 Long Term Orientation......................................................................................................................... 7
3.6 Indulgence and Restraints ................................................................................................................... 8

4 A perspective from Iceberg Model ..........................................................................................................8

4.1 Tangible Aspects .................................................................................................................................. 8
4.2 Expressed Values ................................................................................................................................. 9
4.3 Intangible Aspects ............................................................................................................................. 10

5 Key- takeaways .....................................................................................................................................10

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1 Synopsis
At the time of Second World War, the US Marines used the slogan “Gung Ho,” which was

derived from a Chinese word “gonghe,” which meant “to work together.” As per the

Cambridge Dictionary, it means “extremely enthusiastic about doing something”.

Gung Ho depicts the story of a Assan Motors a Japanese car manufacturer that comes to a

American town named Hadleyville, to reopen a car manufacturing firm which was shut down.

The factory served as the single most important source of livelihood for its residents. The fate

of the town was largely dependent on the turnaround of the car factory, which in turn was

dependent on the success of the joint venture with Japanese firm named Assan Motors. Hunt

Stevenson went to Japan to invite Assan Motors to reopen their closed car factory in

Hadleyville in the order to provide employment to the residents of the town. Hunt is offered

the position for “employee liaison” in the joint venture. Hunt along with Kazihiro , the

Executive manager from Japan, tries to make the factory successful.

As the movie progresses, it is observed that the Japanese and the Americans have quite different

styles of operating a company, majorly due to striking differences in their cultural values. These

differences led to various clashes and conflicts during the movie. However, as they learned

more about each other’s culture and values, conflicts got resolved, and both Japanese and

Americans started to get along well.

But, is this harmony organic? Can one certainly say that there may not be any conflicts between

the two again in the future? Is this a unique case or other Japanese firms face similar conflicts

in the West?

2 What comes first? Personal Life or the Company?

There were multiple instances in the movie, which clearly shows that in Japan Company is

everything, and no one is above the company. One of the Japanese worker’s wife was expecting

a child. Still, he did not have the courage to ask for a day’s leave in front of the CEO openly;

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this clearly shows that “Company above everything” is deeply ingrained in their culture. This

can be further reinforced by the fact that Kazihiro denied assembling bicycle for his son’s

birthday even after multiple requests from his wife. While having beers with Hunt, Kazihiro

spoke his heart out about the work culture in Japan. His exact words were, “The only measure

of a worker's value is the work. The company is everything. Team! That is what has raised us

from a conquered nation to an economic power”. This implies the regards Japanese has for

their company. It also reflects subtle patriotism as they take pride in what their nation has

achieved by working hard.

On the contrary, Americans consider their personal interests before the company. They often

prioritize their own personal interests, rather than the goals of the company for which they were

working, unlike Japanese. There were multiple instances which substantiate the same. For

instance, one of the workers got pissed off after being denied access to newspapers while the

other worker wanted to spend more time with his kid on several occasions like tonsil removal,

etc. There was an inherent notion that they are not supposed to work after their office hours,

even if that meant missing on target or loss of a job. Hunt says, “Americans like to feel special”

while his Japanese counterpart part says, “Every man learns every job, then we are a team. No

man is special”. Americans workers have a different mindset when it comes to quality, for them

a “defect” is usual while in Japan, as Kazhihiro says, “if there is a defect, the worker is ashamed.

He stays the night to fix, and the goal is zero percent defect”. Things got nasty when one of the

American workers got hurt in an accident. Still, the Japanese manager was shouting on others

to get back to work and start the assembly line.

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3 Inter-cultural and Organizational cultural challenges using Hofstede’s 6-

dimensional analysis.

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions for India, Japan, and the United States are shown in graph

below. We will understand the correlation between the chart below and what is depicted in the

movie.

Source : https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/india,japan,the-usa/

3.1 Power Distance

Japan has a PDI of 54, whereas the USA has only 40 indicating a significant gap which is in

line with the findings in the movie. The contrast in power distance has been observed in

numerous instances during the movie. Some of the most exemplary scenes in the movie are

critically examined below:

Hunt while giving his presentation in front of Assan Motors top-level executives, the lower

level executives did not answer Hunt’s questions and preferred to remain silent, while waiting

for their Head to answer. This clearly shows the hierarchy in Japanese firm and inequality in

power distribution.

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When hunt first arrives in Japan searching for Assan Motors. He meets Kazhihiro, who was

undergoing a management training drills designed especially for executives who are failing.

Hunt did not have any idea about the scenario and he missed to recognize the context between

the Kazihiro and his Senior/Boss (who was standing on an elevated platform) and treated them

equally in a quite casual manner. Again, lower level employees did not speak, and the Senior

did the talking. Senior did not like that treatment by Hunt and replied quite angrily while giving

directions to the executive building.

Japan is quite hierarchical and has centralized decision making. Centralized decision-making

process consumes comparatively more time than a decentralized process. Hunt was not aware

of this slow decision-making process at Assan Motors, began to wonder that Japanese were not

interested and his hopes of reviving the city are lost.

When the Executives from Japan arrived at Hadleyville, they were surprised when they realized

that Mayor of himself came to welcome them. Again, Kazihiro was completely taken aback

when the Mayor tried to set up the mike by himself

The American workforce were shown to be equals. Hunt used to be friendly with every

employee while trying to get the work done, and the workers openly talked to Hunt and

considered him as one of his own and not a superior. Hunt himself went to the workers and

convinced them to join him for traditional morning exercises which included “Jumping Jack”

and “Duck Hop.”

3.2 Individualism

Gung Ho depicted a series of conflicts between collectivistic and individualistic cultures. The

American workers were much less enthusiastic to the firm than Japanese, and this was clear

when Hunt tried to convince the workers to meet the production target of 15,000 cars at that

lower wage in return for full employment with better salaries. But the Americans were unhappy

with the compensation and quantum of work rather than taking it as a opportunity.

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Consider the Softball event; the Japanese were in uniform, which depicted team and

collectivism, unlike Americans who were not wearing any uniform as such. Things could have

aggravated when an American worker intentionally cheated by pushing on Japanese player

down who was about to catch the ball. The Japanese team , rather than opposing the incident,

accepted the result and left the field quietly and did not complain or highlighted the issue.

The Japanese followed a ritual of bathing together openly in the river, reflecting their

collectivistic attitude. Hunt, in the order to make the joint venture work, decided to bath with

Japanese and made a deal while bathing without consulting American workers.

3.3 Masculinity vs Feminism

The high score of Japan in Masculinity is justified. Infamous Japanese workaholism is an

expression of their Masculinity. Women are still struggling to climb up the corporate ladders

in Japan with their Masculine norm of hard and long working hours. Japanese quest for

perfection is seen as an expression of Masculinity, which can be clearly seen in the movie when

the strive for zero defects in production.

At one instance of the movie, the Japanese team, along with their wives, Hunt and his girlfriend

were having dinner. Before having desserts, their wives immediately left as soon as Kazihiro

announced that they will discuss business now. But Audrey remained seated even after all other

women had left. She was curious to know about the firm’s status, which surprised the Japanese

and made them uncomfortable. Hunt even shouted “shut up” to his girlfriend when she started

interfering in the discussion. Hunt even said “shut up” which offended his Audrey who

considered attending business meeting to be normal for a women in a family as per Americans

and felt disgusted in front of the other executives by Hunt’s Act.

3.4 Uncertainty Avoidance

Japan scores high on uncertainty avoidance. Japanese managers analyze the data

comprehensively before taking any decision, which is evident from their slow decision-making

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process as they took quite some time before deciding to come to the USA and reopen the car

factory.

Hunt often used stories to motivate workers, whether it was the morning exercise or wage

issues. He tried to bring enthusiasm by mentioning their performance to the success of a old

basketball event of past, which had limited of hopes of win, saying that they will certainly

make a great comeback. This was an exemplary representation of American being more

inclined towards taking risks and adopting radical moves, unlike Japanese.

The Japanese method of car production is rule-based and detailed, thereby leaving the limited

scope of ambiguity in the process flow. The Japanese in the movie always stuck to the rules

with minimal margin for any deviations. This was evident during the car painting scene in the

movie as well as when the worker was instructed to paint only at specific portions and not in a

hap-hazard manner. Japanese often took pride on their manufacturing technology as they

consider it way better than Americans.

3.5 Long Term Orientation

American is associated with short-term orientation, while the Japanese are associated with and

long-term orientation.

The Japanese tried conducting morning team exercises may be to ensure that all its employees

physical fitness for a longer time and so that they can carry out their work efficiently and

effectively which can be attributed to Japanese long term view of solutions. The Americans,

on the contrary, found these rituals funny and started mocking them instead of exercising.

Again during the softball game, it was obvious that Buster pushed the Japanese worker

intentionally to win the match, yet the Japanese accepted the result and left the field

immediately without contesting the foul. This reaction by the Japanese can be attributed to the

fact that they considered long term business relationship above the wrong doing by one person

in the American softball team.

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3.6 Indulgence and Restraints

The cultural transformation in Kazihiro home can be seen during the movie. When Hunt first

visits Kazihiro for dinner, the home was quite organized as per Japanese culture. But, at the

end of the movie, it can be seen that Kazihiro’s wife was influenced by American indulgent

culture where she serves American food at dinner.

In the last course of the movie of the movie, we can see Kazihiro standing up to his boss Mr.

Sakamoto, speaking on behalf of his employee’s personal needs who wanted a leave as his wife

was expecting a child. Kazihiro became candid while having drinks with Hunt and shared his

personal views on Japanese culture and past work. Also, the Americans workers were seen

doing the morning team rituals as per the Japanese at the end of the movie. It can be easily

concluded that when people of two different cultures work together, multiple aspects of the

two cultures overlap and individuals start adjusting to each other’s ways over time, value

intercultural differences and embrace the positives.

4 A perspective from Iceberg Model

4.1 Tangible Aspects

When the Japanese landed in the small town of Hadleyville, they were surprised by the warm

welcome by residents along with the Mayor. They started taking their shoes off before walking

on the red carpet, which was laid down as a welcome gesture. This may be because the Japanese

often take their shoes off before walking on a carpet. The Mayor could not comprehend why

they were doing that, and thought that it might be a Japanese ritual, and he along with his

assistant removed their shoes before stepping on the carpet as well.

Hunt started the presentation by cracking a joke , and went on to show an image of a beautiful

woman to bring some laughter, and even patted one of the executives during the presentation.

But the Japanese were not amused at all by these acts. This might be because the Japanese

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consider their work quite seriously, which was quite visible from their facial expressions and

the way they were behaving.

4.2 Expressed Values

Inter-cultural misinterpretation can be seen on multiple occasions during the movie. Hunt was

seen using candid talks on numerous occasions in the movie while making business deals,

though he often tries to begin his meeting with small talks to ease up thing and make people

more comfortable. When he goes to Assan Motors, Japan to present the proposal of a joint

venture in Hadleyville and begins his presentation to the executive panel. He did not get any

responses from the Japanese. Then, he decides to stop the presentation in the middle and pitches

the offer directly by saying “Look, here’s the deal” and bluntly told that the town is in desperate

need to revive the shutdown plant and if they reopens the factory the Americans workers will

work really hard for the firm. But the Japanese panel refrained from saying anything even after

multiple requests. This silence by the Japanese was perceived negatively by Hunt, and he

thought that they as not interested. But, when Hunt hears that Assan Motors is coming to

Hadleyville, he was pleasantly surprised and realized that he misinterpreted the Japanese.

The Japanese communication style reflects face-saving and harmony. An event of conflict is

depicted when Hunt & Audrey goes to Kazuhiro's place for dinner. At the end of the dinner,

Kazihiro wanted to discuss business and immediately all the women on the table leaves except

for Audrey. But when Hunt asked her to leave, she says, “Well actually I’m kind of interested

in what’s going on at the plant. Nobody minds if I stay, right?” Here as well, the Japanese

executives, who were no comfortable with her presence there, said nothing and Audrey

consider that as acceptance.

The Japanese were shown to be quite formal & humble in their communications during the

film, whereas the Americans, had a more relaxed body language and informal style of

communication

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4.3 Intangible Aspects

Intangible aspects covered majorly in section 2 and section 3, i.e., Hofstede’s 6-dimensional

analysis in this report. However, we will focus on a few instances that were not discussed there.

On the very first day, Kazihiro wanted to build team spirit, making workers exercise together.

He says, “We must build spirit. We must be a team, one, with one purpose only. Everyone

thinking only of the company”. American workers made jokes on the same. Later they join

Hunt after he convinces them to exercise, but in their particular exercise styles as opposed to

one in the Japanese routine. This shows American workers thought themselves superior to

Japanese and dismissed Japanese rituals. Hunt, when landed in Japan, preferred to have food

at McDonald’s rather than traditional Japanese food. Also, at one instance, an American worker

was seen to use chopsticks for eating sandwich just to make fun of Japanese eating habits.

5 Key- takeaways

The movie is a classic example of cross-cultural clashes, conflicts, and resolutions. The cultural

differences shown in the movie are in line with Hofstede’s findings and is not specific to this

movie. The conflicts would always be there whenever two distinct cultures merge not

necessarily American and Japanese. The important aspect is to learn and value each other

culture, which was demonstrated during the end of the movie when Hunt and Kazihiro were

upset about the failure of Assan Motors in Hadleyville. As they sit on the river bank and discuss

their regrets. Both realize that their ethnocentric behaviors are counterproductive to their joint

venture. Rather than focusing on their differences, they decide to focus again on their shared

goal. “Yes, Yes, I feel like you,” Kazihiro says to Hunt. “I would love another chance. I know

we could do better”.

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