Gung Ho Analysis

INTRODUCTION
Through the story of coming of a Japanese car making firm Assan Motors to the American town of Hadleyville, Ron Howard’s movie Gung Ho beautifully portrays how businesses are affected when people from different cultures come together to work as a team. Hunt Stevenson, played by Keaston, entices Assan Motors to Hadleyville where he is offered the position of ‘employee liaison in the joint venture. But soon, internal conflicts begin as both the Japanese and the Americans had very different styles of operation, which were mainly due to the differences in their cultural values.
HOFSTEDE DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURE
To better understand this, I will use Hofstede Dimensions of National Culture to examine the various facets of cultural

INDIVIDUALISM VERSUS COLLECTIVISM
This dimension helps in measuring the tendency of people to integrate with the larger groups. The movie very comically compares the Collectivistic culture of Japan with the Individualistic values of American society.
On the first day of the venture, Kazihiro in his address to the American workers says that “We must build spirit…. We must be a team, one, with one purpose only. Everyone thinking only of the company.”
To build this spirit, he makes all the workers exercise together which is mocked by the American workers. It was only when Stevenson began doing calisthenics that the workers joined him doing their own exercise rather than following the Japanese procedure. Thus, from the very outset of the merger, American individualism and Japanese collectivism have been at loggerheads
In another instance, one of the American workers named Willie is shown upset for being docked for taking the afternoon off to be with his son who was having his tonsils removed. When Stevenson tries to reconcile with Kazihiro by clarifying that, “The guy just lives for his kids”, Kazihiro replies, “But work

MASCULINITY VERSUS FEMININITY
Japanese culture has been shown to have a highly masculine orientation with high penchant for perfectionism and workaholism. American culture, though on a lower scale in Hofstede’s masculinity index as compared to Japanese, still places a high value on personal achievements.
The Japanese and American masculinity orientations have been poignantly showcased at the end of the movie, Gung Ho when the workers realize that they are falling short of the 15,000 production goal. To try to meet the goal, the American workers decide they can take some shortcuts and Keaton’s character says, “Now on these last few, we might need to cut a few corners. Just little things, like…engines”
When Japanese management inspects the last vehicles and finds them to be far less perfect from the way then had expected they decide to fire the workers.
Another instance of Masculinity in Japanese culture becomes evident when Audrey and Stevenson go to Kazihiro’s home for dinner. After the meal, when Kazihiro wanted to discuss business and wanted Audrey to leave, she stays. Instead she says, “Well actually I’m kind of interested in what’s going on at the plant. Nobody minds if I stay,