GUNG HO! CULTURAL ANALYSIS

Michael Hamilton

MKTG 3852 – Second Summer 2012

7/22/12

GUNG HO- CULTURAL ANALYSIS

Cultural differences influence how business is conducted in today’s rapidly expanding

global market. These cultural barriers affect human interactions through our perspective of one

another, credibility, time frames, as well as through communication. The success of international

business depends upon the ability to set aside our differences, unite and strengthen one another.

Many of these challenges can be seen throughout the movie Gung Ho. The movie portrays the

relationship between the Japanese and Americans in a lightly comically point of view through an

auto factory. However, when comparing and contrasting the interactions of these two cultures,

both in and out of the film, they’re dynamics of become more apparent. The connections and

exchanges between the Japanese management team and the American workers throughout the

film present examples for each of the five dimensions in Geert Hofstede’s cultural dynamics

analysis: Individualism/Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance,

Masculinity/Femininity, and the later added Long-term Orientation.

I. Hofstede’s Cultural Dynamics

The results from Hofstede’s analysis for the United States and Japan are in the following

table. When comparing the two we see that the Americans have a highly individualistic, male

reinforced, ambiguous, society with a slight hierarchy with a weak connection to tradition. Japan

is highly male reinforced, high structure, hierarchy with a strong connection to tradition. The two

are on opposite ends of the scale in each category, except for the Power Distance where they

differ slightly.

Hofstede’s Cultural Dynamics Scores U.S & Japan 1

Category IDV UAI PDI MAS LTO

United States 91 46 40 62 29

Japan 46 92 54 95 80

While utilizing Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, it is apparent that there is a correlation

among many of these aspects and Edward Hall’s analysis of cultures. (Below in figure 3)2 This

scale helps by visually displaying Japanese in a High context culture and North Americans in a

Low context culture. The brief descriptions of what each value closely relates to the actions

taken by both the Japanese and Americans in the movie. These cultures positions are also

reflected among the dimensions of Hofstede’s analysis.

a) Individualism/Collectivism

The individualism/collectivism dimension essentially determines where a culture

balances they’re relationship of personal life and work or similarly the balance of the group

1 geert-hofstede.com/countries.html2 Mary Munter; Cross Cultural Communication for Managers; Business Horizons, May-June 1993

opposed to an individual. By examining this aspect it’s quite clear that the two cultures couldn’t

be more opposite.

The United States is one of only seven countries that Hofstede classifies having

individualism as the highest dimension. 3 Americans emphasize a home life, capitalizing on the

individual and what makes them special. The American Individualistic perspective can be seen

throughout the film. This is pointed out as the workers want to be treated special, and differently.

Workers are frustrated with the Japanese when they are not allowed to leave for children’s

surgery, or to help an injured co-worker. In the case of the injury a Japanese manager is shouting

for people to get back to work. The factory and work come second to the Americans, behind

their family lives and individual agendas.

The Japanese are more collectivist with individualism ranking lowest among their

dimensions.4 They put the company above all and focus on the wellbeing of the group and its

performance. The film portrays the Japanese collectivist mentality several times. A few clear

examples where collectivism is taking place are during management boot camp, Oishi’s family

interactions, and again at the end when Mr.Sakamoto inspects the fifteen thousand cars and

comes to a decision for the future of the factory.

When the movie begins it shows Japanese being treated unjustly by being beaten,

screaming and forced to participate in the management boot camp. The management members

who had previously failed were inducted into this program. They were forced to wear ribbons of

shame and were humiliated because they had let down the other members of management,

workers underneath them, but more importantly the company. By doing this they emphasize their

value to the group. They disregard individuality and refuse to meet special needs for workers, 3 www.cyborlink.com/besite/us.htm).4 (www.cyborlink.com/besite/japan.htm)

such as the worker leaving for his child’s tonsil surgery, or the Japanese management member’s

wife in labor. The Japanese will work without pay to catch up or get ahead, they take great pride

in the team. Throughout the film Oishi and the other Japanese members insist that work be done

for the company. Another instance that shows the Japanese dedication is when Oishi is at the

dinner table working and his wife asks him to put together the bicycle for their son. He refuses to

put together the bicycle and insists on working. Once more near the end of the movie when Mr.

Sakamoto inspects the completed cars he shows signs of their collectivism by placing emphasis

on the production and the quality of the work. He also displays a feature of the high context

society by honoring of the verbal agreement and returning the workers to their original hours and

salaries.

b) Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty Avoidance is a measure for a culture’s ability to function in an unclear

situation. It is the comfort level in a “free” situation where there are no guidelines or agenda. On

Hofstede’s scale the United States scores a 46, relatively low, where Japan scores a 92 which is

high. 5In the film it I feel that the American “just go with it” feel is more prominent; however,

the Japanese need for structure is also present. In the movie we see the rigorous structure of the

Japanese management team. We also see Mr. Stevenson’s comfort in unfamiliar surroundings

and unknown situations. He is scurrying along trying to find his way to the meeting, once he is

there it appears as though his presentation lacked preparation, and then he abandons it and just

goes from the cusp. Which again points back to Edward Halls diagram (above table 3) and

exemplifies that our culture gets down to the point. He does not spend a lot of time getting to

know the Japanese he presents to he just goes right to business. Throughout the film every time

5 (www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/uncertainty-avoidance-index/)

he gets up to speak in the film, he just wings it. Throughout the film Mr. Stevenson is successful

with this style of speaking and persuasion which exemplifies that the American culture is less

structured and more likely to act on a whim.

c) Power Distance

The dynamic of Power Distance determines the importance of ranking in a society,

typically established in terms of wealth or power. It is defined by Hofstede as “the extent to

which less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and

accept that power is distributed unequally.”6 This dynamic has the closest scores between the

United States and Japan, a 40 and 54 respectively. In the movie you can see how the Japanese

place a higher value on position. Their management boot camp and strictness are examples of

how they are required to be successful and failure is not an option. Also the way the Japanese

managers acted around Mr. Sakamoto displayed they’re fear of the boss. The one Japanese

worker skipped his child’s birth to stay and work because he was afraid of how it would be

viewed.

d) Masculinity/Femininity

The general attitude towards gender roles differs between individuals as it does between

cultures. Japan strongly upholds the traditional male role model, in terms of achievement, power,

and control. The United States also upholds the traditional male role model but to a lesser degree

which can be seen in the two scores of Hofstede’s study, Japan 95, America 62. Both have a

distinct separation of gender roles, although, the United States distinction has become a bit more

6 Hofstede, G. and Hofstede, G.J. (2005), Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY (revised and expanded, 2nd ed.).

unclear as the work place has become more integrated. In Gung Ho there is really only one scene

where the masculinity is undoubtedly displayed, the scene where Mr. Stevenson and Audrey go

and eat dinner with the Japanese managers at Oishi’s house. When they finish eating dinner and

the Japanese state that they want to talk business, all of the women except for Audrey get up and

leave the table. In Japan this is common practice. “I don’t interfere with my husband’s business,

not with my mouth, hands or legs.” the former Japanese Prime Minister’s wife, Kumiko

Hashimoto, said. 7 Audrey did not leave the table due to the acceptance of her presence in such

situations by her culture. She even asked if it was alright if she stayed which left a confused look

on the Japanese business men’s faces. In the United States it would not be uncommon for her to

participate in such a discussion; however the Japanese culture excludes her.

e) Long-Term Orientation

The fifth dimension which was later added to Hofstede’s analysis, Long-Term

Orientation, aims to interpret how societies value traditions and their ability to make adaptations.

According to the scores, America is adaptive and holds loose connections with tradition, where

Japan follows traditions and has a more difficult time changing. This was apparent in the movie

with how the American workers were willing, and easily convinced, to go along with the

changes of the Japanese take over. The Japanese display their cultural trait by refusing to operate

differently and insisting on doing things their way. They focused closely on the way production

was done and on efficiency.

II. Cultural Differences Impact on Managers

7 (Quoted in Mary Jordan, “A First Lady’s Secondary Role; Premier’s Wife stands behind her man, typifying gender roles in modern Japan”, The Washington Post, 15 April 1996, Online, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 11 Mar 2000.)

Often times business objectives can be similar, however, the barriers created by cultural

differences can cloud the decision making process as well as the complicate the actions that need

to be taken to achieve success. “Culture consists of the values, attitudes, and behavior in a given

group of most of the people most of the time.”8 It is essential for members of management to be

able to understand this and then position they’re objectives without disrespecting or disregarding

cultural differences or values. Culture can be compared to an iceberg, where the danger is not in

what we understand and see, but the unknown.9 Some of the main obstacles management faces

when dealing cross culturally can develop from differences in communication practices, time

schedule/lifestyle, and perceptions of one another. These challenges can arise when dealing

among any culture but these particularly take place between the Japanese and the Americans in

the film Gung Ho.

a) Communication Practices

With today’s rapid expansion towards a globalized market it is critical for managers to be

able to successfully communicate with their own team members as well as those of other

cultures. Some important aspects of communication that can be misinterpreted are language,

non-verbal signs and gestures, and intention.

Language is a bit of an obvious barrier; we see this in the beginning of the movie when

Mr. Stevenson is asking for directions to his meeting and he ends up in a rice field. Language

and culture can be considered mutually dependent upon one another. Japanese language is

reflective of their culture, which can contribute to the barrier for Americans.10 Language consists

8 Mary Munter; Cross Cultural Communication for Managers; Business Horizons, May-June 19939 James K. Sebenius; The Hidden Challenges of Cross-Border Negotiations, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, 2002.10 www.immi.se/intercultural/nr10/fengping-gao.htm

of more than just words. Some words have multiple meanings, it is important to consider context

along with the tense of the word(s). Depending upon the language, there are some words that

cannot be directly translated.

Along with the complications of the spoken words are the challenges presented by non-

verbal communication. There are cultural differences in facial expressions, body language,

gestures, and use of space which can be open to misinterpretation if presented improperly. A

study completed at UCLA found that up to about 93% of communication is determined by non-

verbal cues. 11 An example of non-verbal communication used by the Japanese culture which can

be seen in the film would be the bow when greeting. This is a common practice in Japan, but

uncommon for the Americans. When you are greeted with a bow the proper procedure would be

to return a bow keeping your eyes low and your palms flat next to your thighs bowing only as

low as the one you received, the duration of the bow displays the status of the relationship.12

Confusion during what appears to be a simple ritual could result in offending your Japanese

business partners. It is important for managers to have knowledge of proper procedure for

gestures as well as what not to do since not all things are interpreted the same way by different

cultures.

Intent is another important aspect of communicating. It is important that you say what

you mean and that it is interpreted in that same way. Differences in language, gestures, as well as

phrasing and positioning of comments can change or leave purpose out of a statement. A friend

of mine was recently dealing with come clients from China, and he was telling me how they did

not pick up on sarcasm essentially at all. This relates directly to the movie where the Japanese

take Mr. Stevenson’s sarcastic comment, “is a frog’s ass water tight?” literally and consider its 11 humanresources.about.com/od/interpersonalcommunicatio1/a/nonverbal_com.htm12 www.cyborlink.com/besite/japan.htm

meaning, when it was a crude way of saying, yes you can rely on me. The way we interpret

things can differ which will leave opportunity for a misunderstanding. “We need to remember

that other cultures do not necessarily share our behaviors-verbal or non-verbal.”13

b) Time/Lifestyle

Cultures while regionally different tend to generalize on their ideals and values for time,

relationships and their position among society. Many of these generalizations can be seen above

in Edward Hall’s analysis of cultures: High and Low Context Cultures. The Japanese are shown

as a high context culture; emphasizing the importance of relationships and trust, they are

typically slow to negotiate and come to a decision. Where Americans tend to get right down to

the point of things and try to speed up processes yet still operating efficiently.14 Both of these

traits are seen throughout Gung Ho. The Japanese were only opening the factory to test the

waters. The Japanese managers were here observing operations to make sure that it would be

worth their while to permanently re-open the plant. The American perspective of speeding

through the process is shown when Mr. Stevenson gives his presentation in Japan and he gets

straight to the point. The two cultures value time and work differently. The American workers

wanted to go home and spend time with their families, where the Japanese held more pride in the

company and were willing to sacrifice home life. This relates to Hofsede’s findings for the

cultures being opposites; Japan collective, and America individual.

These differences challenge mangers locally as well as cross-culturally through the

utilization of their resources. It is hard to supervise people when you don’t understand them. This

was the major problem for the Japanese in the movie; they wanted everything the way it was in

13 Mary Munter; Cross Cultural Communication for Managers; Business Horizons, May-June 199314 Mary Munter; Cross Cultural Communication for Managers; Business Horizons, May-June 1993

Japan even though they were clearly not there. Understanding these differences can help

managers to better utilize workers and their strengths while keeping them happy which in turn

should increase production and improve morale.

c) Perceptions of Each Other

The way in which someone views you impacts how they will treat you. It is important for

managers to appeal to their audience, or whomever they are working with. The way in which

they are perceived will determine their own competence and credibility. We constantly hear

“you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” A recent study, conducted by

Princeton psychologists Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov, shows evidence that first

impressions can be made in a tenth of a second.15 First impressions play a large role in how

potential clients perceive you. It is important to have a clear understanding of who you are

dealing with especially when dealing internationally when the specifics can be in a grey area.

The perception that the Japanese had of the Americans in the movie was that they were weak,

and cared more about themselves than the company. They had to show that they were

willing to work hard to keep their jobs and have the plant reopened. The respect that was

given to the American workers by the Japanese in the beginning of the movie was little, and

having come to fix the plant these workers had little to no credibility. Without credibility it is

hard to have anyone respect their expertise, skills, knowledge, or abilities.

The power distance is an important part of how people perceive each other. It is

important to understand the hierarchy and know who the key players are. “Even if you know

who’s playing a failure to understand each player’s role-and who owns which decisions- can

15 www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2010

be very costly.”16 You need to have a good understanding of who you are involved with

based upon their credibility not just your perception. This is essential to managers who need

to influence objectives and getting others to work alongside them.

From viewing the film Gung Ho and researching the Japanese and American cultures it’s

amazing how our differences don’t interfere more than they do. Hofstede’s cultural dynamics

analysis helps to classify each culture and break down the individual differences. It is

essential for management to be able to distinguish these individual differences and

understand them as well and the incentives and objectives of their business partners, without

disrespecting or disregarding cultural differences or values. The success of international

business in today’s market is much like overcoming the differences between the Japanese

and Americans in the film. It depends upon the ability to set aside our differences, unite and

build strengthening one another.

16 James K. Sebenius; The Hidden Challenges of Cross-Border Negotiations, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, 2002.

Bibliography

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Mary Munter; Cross Cultural Communication for Managers; Business Horizons,

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Hofstede, G. and Hofstede, G.J. (2005), Cultures and Organizations: Software of

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Mary Jordan, “A First Lady’s Secondary Role; Premier’s Wife stands behind her

man, typifying gender roles in modern Japan”, The Washington Post, 15 April

1996, Online, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 11 Mar 2000.)

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Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, 2002.

www.immi.se/intercultural/nr10/fengping-gao.htm

humanresources.about.com/od/interpersonalcommunicatio1/a/nonverbal_com.htm

www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2010