Gung Ho movie- Cross culture management assignment

1. CROSS CULTURE
MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT
Submitted By Submitted To
Saloni Sanghani Prof. Vipra Tiwari
PGDM II
Div A
Roll no 73

2. 1) Reflect on the first meeting with the Japanese where Anderson proposes them to
start operations in his town in US. What were the cultural lapses according to you?
Anderson starts facing problems right when he steps into Japan, he seems to be not liking the
Japanese food because of which he goes to McDonald’s, he has a language barrier as he isn’t
able to tell the Japanese people properly about where he wants to go because of which he
lands up in different places. When Anderson finally reaches the meeting location, he tries to
crack jokes just to get comfortable with the Japanese but the Japanese don’t seem to get
Anderson’s jokes. The Japanese were very serious, and did not show any kind of expression
on their face because of which Anderson had to ask them if they knew English to which the
Japanese said yes and asked him to continue with his work. Later during the presentation
Anderson gets really relaxed making political incorrect remarks to which the Japanese men
do not laugh or adjust. Anderson tries to loosen the formal atmosphere by showing a picture
of a woman but again the Japanese men show no expression. At the end of the meeting
Anderson asks them if they have any questions and seeing it rude to ask a question in the
Japanese culture, the men remain silent.
The Japanese showed a Neutral culture during the meeting, wherein they did not openly
express their feelings as it is incorrect according to them; there was lack of an emotional tone.
They hid their emotion and did not communicate at all which made it difficult for Anderson
to understand them. The Japanese showed a Listener Oriented Style of communication during
the meeting, they did not speak a word during his presentation. They just observed him as he
spoke and made interpretations in their minds. The Japanese people value silence over an
overabundance of talking, they believe that silence speaks loudly about wisdom and
emotional self-control while the Americans tend to communicate through facts and opinions.
2) What are the levels of cultural shock that the Japanese go through in US? What are
the obstacles in their way?
The cultural shocks that the Japanese go through in US are:
 When the Japanese gave the Americans instructions, they saw that the Americans were
arguing with them and questioning their instruction. This was a shock for the Japanese
because in the Japanese culture when instructions are given by their boss they listen to it
blindly without questioning them but here they saw that the Americans were offensively
blunt.

3.  The Japanese were also shocked to see how the Americans were working in an informal
way, they were seen listening to music, eating and cracking jokes during their work
hours. In the Japanese style of working they are very particular with their work and have
a very formal way of working. They concentrate on only their work when they are
working and have timings for everything that includes eating at a specific timing.
 The Japanese were shocked when one of the employee asked for half day off to go with
his son to get his tonsils removed, because for them work comes first. They also show
that when Japanese’s wife was in labour he did not leave his work to go to his wife as that
is against their work culture. Here we see that the Japanese give work first priority unlike
the Americans.
 When a Japanese manager was showing the American employee how to paint the car, the
employee said “Why can’t we just do what we know how to do?” to this the manger
replied “Every man learns every job, and then we are a team. No man is special”.
Anderson steps in to resolve the problem and explains to the Japanese manage that every
American likes to feel special. To this the Japanese manager was shocked because in
Japan everyone is meant to know every job but in America everyone specialises in a
particular job.
 In the scene where the Japanese were having dinner with Anderson, when they finished
their meal and wanted to discuss business all the Japanese women got up from the table
and went just to give the men privacy, but Anderson’s wife kept seated. The Japanese
men were shocked to see that.
 When the workers challenge the mangers when they make labor union decisions, the
manager consider it as a sign of disrespect, while the Americans simply believe in
standing up for their rights.
Obstacles their way were:
 On the first day of work the Americans were not ready to do exercise with the Japanese as
they found it very odd. But for the Japanese it was their daily routine.
 The guy at the spray station had an argument with the manager because the manager
wanted to teach him a different way of painting. The Japanese manager told him that
everyone should know every job but the American disagreed to it and said that he will
only do the work that he is aware of.

4.  The Japanese were target oriented and wanted to complete their target as soon as possible
but they saw that that was not the case with the Americans as they wanted to finish their
work fast and go home.
 The Japanese could not find a way to communicate to the workers as they would not
listen to them. The Japanese had to first speak to Anderson and then Anderson would
communicate the same to the workers.
 The biggest obstacle that the Japanese faced was when the workers went on strike and
that Anderson had lied to the workers about the raise. The Japanese managers were scared
because their boss was in town and their target was not complete.
3) What makes Assan motors in US finally complete its target? How does cultural
understanding help achieve organizational target?
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 damn 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 co-workers 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 him.” 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.”

5. 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.”
At the end of the movie they show how well the Americans work with the Japanese by
adjusting to each other’s culture. They show how the Japanese used music to make the
Americans do exercise in the morning.