Gung Ho

Michael Keaton stars as a wheeler-dealer who hopes to save a failing Pennsylvania automobile-
assembly factory from having to close its doors. Keaton persuades a Japanese auto firm to reopen the
factory, retrain its staff, and streamline the operation. It isn't long before the American-born workers
grow to resent the disciplinary demands of their new Japanese bosses, setting the stage for a comic
clash of cultures. The day is saved when it turns out that the poker-faced owner of the auto company
possesses a really strange sense of humor.
1.What differences does the film highlight between American and Japanese business culture?
- Americans have a more direct communication style in business than Japanese.
- Americans maintain more eye contact than Japanese and „shifty eyed” is a negative.
the eye contact of Americans may make Japanese unconfortable.
- Americans may have difficulty interpreting the facial expressions of Japanese and the subtle
smile of the Japanese may seem wooden or even unfriendly. Japanese attempt to maintain a subtle
smile throughout the bussiness negotiaitions and this is considered polite.
- For Americans, business figures are important and should be dealt with soon in the business
relationship since numbers may determine whether further communication is necessary. Numbers
should drive business decisions and exactness about figures is preferable. On the other hand, for
Japanese, business figures are discussed more indirectly in business situations especially in the
beginning of the business relationship. The client not the seller should initiate talk about price, costs
and profits. Timing is important when discussing business figures. Vagueness about figures is
acceptable.
- Gift exchange is not as common or important in the United States and the etiquette of accepting
the gift is not as formal. Gift exchange (temiayage) is a formal process and generally communicates
friendliness. The gift should be receives with both hands, be accepted standing up and the receiver
should say „Thank you”.
- Americans have a low context communication and they are an individualistic culture. Japanese
have a high context communication and they are a collectivistic culture.
- For Americans business card exchange is less rule governed and important. For the Japanese
business card exchange has rules and is more important.
- Extended silence can make Americans unconfortable. Silence can be a broader form of
communication then for Americans.
2. How does cultural learning occur in the film? Provide examples.
Hunt and Kazihiro (Watanabe), the executive manager of the factory, strike up a friendship.
Unfortunately, both are pressured by their cultural constituencies, and they end up fighting in the
middle of the factory. As a result, the American workers walk out on their jobs and Assan Motors
decides to pull out of town. Hunt and Kazihiro reconcile and decide to reopen the factory themselves;
their constituencies eventually join them. The members of the two cultures learn to respect (and even
appreciate) their differences. By collaborating rather than competing, their joint venture is a success.
On the first day of the joint venture, Kazihiro addresses the American workers: “We must build
spirit. We must be a team, one, with one purpose only. Everyone thinking only of the company.” He
hopes to build this spirit by having them exercise together. The workers resist until Hunt begins doing
calisthenics. Eventually they join Hunt, but in their own exercise styles rather than according to the
Japanese regimen. From the outset of the merger, individualism clashes with collectivism. Conflict
rises again when Soito (Shimono), one of the Japanese managers, tries to show Buster, one of the
workers, a different way to paint a car. Buster resists and says, “Why can’t we just do what we know
how to do?” Obviously frustrated, Soito replies, “Every man learns every job, then we are a team. No
man is special.” Hunt steps in to resolve the problem. He explains to Soito, “See, here’s the deal on
that. You’re in America now, you know, and the thing is, Americans really like to feel special.” When
Hunt requests that the workers be returned to their familiar jobs, Soito firmly says, “There is one way
to run this factory. One way.” The episode illustrates differences in valuing the one versus the many
and the part versus the whole.
 Another example: Willie, one of the workers, takes the afternoon off to be with his son who is
having his tonsils removed. Willie is upset because he is docked for the time off. Hunt tries to smooth
things with Kazihiro by explaining, “The guy just lives for his kids.” Kazihiro says, “But work
suffers.” For Kazihiro, the individual must sacrifice for the larger good, while Willie values individual
nurturing over collective achievement.
Americans tend to use a low context (direct) communication style in comparison to the high
context (indirect) style of the Japanese. Hunt 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.
The high-context style of the Japanese emphasizes harmony and “saving face.” An example in the
film is when the Americans challenge the Japanese to a game of softball. Buster cheats when he
intentionally knocks a man down. Rather than contest the incident, the Japanese accept the lose and
leave. Another time high and low context styles clash is when Audrey and Hunt go to Kazihiro’s for
dinner. After the meal, Kazihiro wants to discuss business. This is a cue for the women to leave, but
Audrey stays. Hunt directly asks her to leave. She has no intention of doing so and says, “Well actually
I’m kind of interested in what’s going on at the plant. Nobody minds if I stay, right?” The Japanese
men, who clearly don’t want her there, say nothing. Both Hunt and Audrey exhibit low-context styles
in a high-context situation. The American workers, exhibiting a low power distance style, believe they
should have a say in decisions at the factory. The Japanese managers, exhibiting a high power distance
style, believe that those in authority should make decisions and be obeyed without question. This
inevitably causes conflict between management and workers. When the workers challenge the
management (such as when they make labor union decisions), the Assan managers regard it as a sign
of disrespect, while the Americans simply believe they are standing up for their rights. In this and
every conflict in the movie, each side sees its values as “correct” and the other culture as “wrong.”
This ethnocentrism exacerbates the communication problems between them.
3. By the end of the film, how have the main characters changed, and how have the workers
changed?
Kazihiro would like to be more like Willie, regarding nurturing as more important than
achievement. As the movie progresses, he stands up for one of his workers on this issue. Kazihiro
wants to give the worker time off because his wife is in labor, but Mr. Sakamoto (Yamamura),
Kazihiro’s boss, intimidates the worker into staying. This is a turning point for Kazihiro; he stands up
to his boss and says, “We work too hard. This is not our lives, this is a factory. Our friends, our
families should be our lives. We are killing ourselves...we have things that we can learn from
Americans.” None of his Japanese coworkers support him as he stands alone before Mr. Sakamoto. In
this moment of decision, he values individualism over collectivism and low power distance over high
power distance. Hunt also goes through changes. In the beginning of the movie, he tells a basketball
story to persuade the union to work for the Japanese without a contract and at lower wages. The moral
of his story is that one man (Hunt) saves the team. In essence, he promises to handle the Japanese for
them. He takes on the role of town hero, feeding his ego and his individuality. His girlfriend, Audrey
(Rogers), tries to persuade him that the town needs a more collectivist approach: “They don’t need
some guy who’s trying to make the winning play all by himself.” Hunt eventually recognizes what he
is doing and apologizes to everyone at the festival: “I put myself in front of the town and I’m really
sorry.” Both Hunt and Kazihiro are upset about the failure of Assan Motors in Hadleyville. As they sit
on the river bank, they discuss their regrets. Each realizes that his ethnocentric tendencies 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.” The two decide to go back to the factory to build 1000 more cars
together. Their teamwork is a model to the workers and the managers who ultimately return to help
Kazihiro and Hunt achieve their goal.