Table of contentsIntroductionCultural biasAnalysisConclusionSuggestionsIntroductionCulture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are at best a nuisance and often a disaster. These cultural barriers affect the ability to do international business. Many challenges are visible throughout Gung Ho. The analysis of the film demonstrates a cultural difference between Americans and Japanese working together to achieve the goal of reviving the American automobile industry. The connections and exchanges between the Japanese management team and American workers throughout the film present examples for each of the five dimensions of Hofstede's analysis of cultural dynamics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Additionally, we have to keep in mind that cultures have changed since then because the movie is based on 1986. Hunt Stevenson is a 35-year-old man. old American who works for a car manufacturer that has just been bought by a Japanese company. At the beginning of the film, the Japanese management team arrives in the United States in order to settle things the way they want, according to their own cultural standards. However, conflicts arise due to huge differences in culture and work ethics between the two groups. In this analysis, we will examine this film from a multicultural perspective and analyze the film according to different multicultural theories and concepts. The film may have been a success, but not without its share of criticism. The weakness of both cultures is often highlighted by critics. Emphasis was placed on American ineffectiveness and Japanese inscrutability. The film, despite criticism, received praise from academics for depicting the dynamics of a work culture in a multicultural environment. Implementation of Theories The Japanese tend to have a polychrome culture, while Americans have a monochronic culture. While the first specializes in continuous improvement and multitasking, the second would tend towards best practices and specialization. We will see various theories to see the effect by applying it to film and mitigating conflicts occurring in modern organizations to complete the theories. Comparing the two, we see that Americans have a slightly individualistic, male-enhanced, ambiguous society with a slight hierarchy. with a strong link to tradition. Japan has a highly strengthened structure, high hierarchy and a strong connection to tradition. The two are at opposite ends of the scale in each category, except for power distance where they differ slightly. Hofstede says that the uncertainty avoidance dimension measures the extent to which members of a culture desire structure rather than structurelessness. This is the comfort level in a “free” situation where there are no guidelines or agenda. In the film, we observed that the rigorous Japanese structure of the management team, while the Americans have a feeling of "going with it", is more important. The softball game demonstrated that Japan has high uncertainty avoidance and Americans have low uncertainty. When Hunt invited Kenji's team to play softball, the Japanese wore something different. The concept of uniformity also appears in various scenes showing the factory employees all wearing the same work uniform. Blue for the Americans. And white for the Japanese. Morning stretches and exercisesinvolve all employees. Long-term orientation aims to interpret how societies value traditions and their capacity to adapt. This dimension focuses on long-term dedication to traditional values. After the arrival of the Japanese team, the manager sets out to implement new rules and restructure work on the assembly line. The assembly line scene shows that Japanese managers want workers to learn new skills and be able to perform more than one specific task. The Americans were adaptive and easily convinced and ready to take over with the Japanese. The Japanese display their cultural trait by refusing to operate differently and insisting on doing things their own way. They focused closely on how production was done and how efficiently it was done. The individualism/collectivism dimension essentially determines the balance of a culture, the relationship between personal life and work or in the same way the balance of the group in relation to the individual. Looking at this aspect, it becomes clear that two cultures could not be more opposite. On the first day of the joint venture, Kazihiro addresses American workers: we must build the spirit. We must be a team, one, with one goal. Everyone only thinks about the business. He hopes to develop that spirit by having them exercise together. The workers resist until the hunt begins to do gymnastics. Eventually, they join Hunt, but in their own styles of exercise rather than the Japanese diet. Workers want to be treated special and different. Another conflict arises when Soito (shimono) tries to show Buster, one of the workers, a different way to paint the car. A frustrated Soito responds, every man learns every trade, so we are a team. No man is special. Hunt steps in to resolve the problem. He explains to Soito, "See, here's the deal about it. You're in America now, you know, and Americans really like to feel special. When Hunt asks that his jobs revert to familiar jobs, Soito says firmly : “There is a way to transform this factory Sens Unique.” The episode illustrates the differences in valuing the one over the many and the part over the whole. 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 his leave. Hunt tries to smooth things over with Kazihiro by explaining that "the guy only lives for his kids." Kazihiro said. But work suffers. For Kazihiro, the individual must sacrifice himself for the general good, while Willie values ​​individuals who flourish rather than collective success. The factory and work come second to Americans, behind their family lives and individual agendas. At the beginning of the film, it shows Japanese people being treated unfairly, beaten, shouted and forced to participate in the management training camp. Members of management who had previously failed were brought into this program. They were forced to wear ribbons of shame and were humiliated because they had let down other members of management, the workers below them, but most importantly the company. In doing so, they emphasize their value to the group. They ignore individuality and refuse to meet the needs of workers, like the wife of the Japanese working manager. Americans tend to use a direct communication style compared to the high context (INDIRECT) style of the Japanese. Hunt uses direct low-context walking with manyrepeated in the film, even if it often begins by “beating around the bush”. One example is when he goes to Japan to sell the presentation, notices he's not getting many responses, and then decides to pursue it. Hunt explained by saying that Hadleyville needs the Japanese and that the Americans will work hard if they come. The Japanese say nothing (silence if), so Hunt thinks he has failed. When Assan decides to come to Hadleyville, Hunt is shocked: a case of cross-cultural incomprehension. The very contextual style of the Japanese emphasizes the harmony and "saving face" An example in the film is when the American challenges the Japanese to a game of softball Buster cheats when he intentionally knocks down a man, rather than contesting the incident, the Japanese. accept the loss and leave another time The confrontation takes place when Audrey and Hunt go to dinner at Kazihiro's house. After the meal, Kazihiro wants to discuss business. This is a signal for the women to leave, but Audrey. stays directly and asks him to leave.doing so and saying, "Actually, I'm nice if I'm interested in what's going on at the factory. Nobody minds if I stay, right." ? » The Japanese, who clearly don't want her, say nothing. Hunt and Audrey both display a low context style in a high context situation. American workers, who display a low power distance style, believe they should have a say in factory decisions. Japanese managers, who demonstrate a distance and power style, believe that those in authority should make decisions and be obeyed without question. This inevitably causes conflicts between management and workers. When workers challenge management, Assan leaders see it as a sign of disrespect, while Americans simply believe they are defending their rights. In this conflict and in all conflicts in the film, each side views its values ​​as correct and other cultures as “wrong.” This ethnocentrism exacerbates the communication problems between them. In this film, we can see the individualism/collectivism dimension. Only one person can represent a company in its negotiations, and organizations with an individualistic culture likely allow their negotiators to make decisions without consultation from their headquarters. For the collectivist culture, a group of representatives would likely be involved in the negotiations and would require consultation among members of the delegation and with the head of headquarters at each stage of the negotiation process. Cultural Bias There are six components to cultural bias. In this report, the authors only use ethnocentrism and bias to analyze the case. Ethnocentrism is the notion that the beliefs, values, norms, and social practices of one's own culture are superior to those of others. Ethnocentrism tends to highlight and exaggerate cultural differences. Prejudice is a negative attitude towards others, based on incorrect and inflexible stereotypes. These attitudes include irrational feelings of dislike, even hatred, towards certain groups. It is essential that members of management are able to understand this and then position their goals without disrespecting or ignoring cultural differences or values. Some of the biggest obstacles management faces in cross-cultural dealings may arise from differences in communication practices. At the end of the film, Kazihiro wishes he were more like Willie, reclassifying education as more important than.