Mark Jones, a Production Manager, has been transferred from the manufacturing plant in his hometown of Chicago to his company's overseas manufacturing plant in Osaka, Japan and I am writing to let you know the differences that Mark will experience in managing front-line plant workers in Japan in contrast to in the United States and also address how cultural differences may play a role in individual differences Mark will experience.…
David Henry Hwang is the protagonist in this movie that accidentally cast a Caucasian in an Asian American role but has to protect his reputation as an Asian American role model. He struggles and also many Asians struggle with having many role models in America as their influence isn’t really big in the film industry. In the film industry it is not saturated with many Asians and this is a problem to David because he is a role model in the community and if this surfaces he will be looked down upon in his community.…
Gung Ho was a story about a small town factory that was underperforming, and a new manager and seasoned employee who used the below principals to turn the plant into a world-class process.…
By 1982, GM’s Fremont plant, California, employed over 7,200 workers was shut down. At the time, the plant had terrible reputation of being the worst of GM’s plants known by its low productivity, the worst quality automobiles, from 5,000 to 7,000 filled grievances, over 20% of workers’ absenteeism, and even sabotage. Violation of the production and safety regulations, cycle time around with other errors were common for the plant. Meanwhile, another automobile giant, Toyota Motors, was facing with the necessity to produce vehicles in the United States.…
Third, despite there is still some different opinion between Japanese managers and American managers, as the reason of the conflict of their different culture of the hierarchy, JASI has already decided to hire a project administrator. the more time JASI spend on this management issue the less time they can use to solve other issues, and this leads to the reduction in company’s efficiency.…
This movie was set in Japan during the late 19th century. An American general who was famous for his many victorious battles against the Native Americans was called to Japan for a special task. The Japanese government was looking to make their civilization as western as possible. They adopted Western dress and began to shy away from the old warrior ways. New technologies such as firearms, cannons, trains, and photography were being instituted into their culture. The only thing holding the government back form being totally westernized was a group of rebels that wanted Japan to stay as it was and not forget its long and treasured history. This American general was brought to Japan in order to train the army to operate like they do in the West. He was hired to train the soldiers how to use firearms and cannons.…
Both allow the reader to interpret the potential relationship between the U.S. and Japanese Americans at the time. Anatomy of a Scare by M.J Heale emphasizes the hatred and racism towards Japanese Americans during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. “American consumers were conducting a passionate love affair with Japanese products. These influences indeed helped to contain anti-Japanese sentiment for a time” (Heale, 3). It explains how the hatred was fueled by fear of Japanese products being better and lasting longer. When americans get scared they find something to blame, and it just happened to be the Japanese, Japan, and anything to do with Japanese Americans. Themes in Japanese Culture by Geoffrey Gorer allows Americans to generate common stereotypes about the Japanese and develop hatred for the them because of their different upbringings and culture. Even with very little background knowledge of the Japanese, Japan, and Japanese Americans Gorer attempts these statements and claims. “I have never been to Japan; I cannot read Japanese; and I have no special qualifications for discussing Japanese culture” (Gorer, 2). Gorer tries to explain the common stereotypes of the Japanese and why they are so business oriented and very hard workers. Hinting at the fact that Americans should be weary of the Japanese because they might take their jobs. “Shows this constant urge to control the environment as completely as possible” (Gorer, 20). This examines why the Japanese are so good at what they do when they are working, because they are all about business. Both Gorer and Heale use fear of Japanese products and Japanese taking over the U.S. to strike fear and antagonism into the eyes of American…
It is difficult to over estimate the importance to the process of manufacturing the innovations and changes introduced at Ford’s Detroit factories between 1910 and 1915 and their later incorporation into the business practice of organizations throughout the Western world. By producing the Model T and ‘diffusing of the techniques’ of mass production, ‘Fordism’, a concept which encompasses both the Ford production system and its parallel system of labour relations, may be said to have ‘changed the world’. (Hounsell, 1984: 218).Whilst it may be the case that the introduction of Japanese production techniques is restructuring the labour process in major industrial sectors such as that of automotives…
Instead of being laid off, however, on Monday they will become temporary employees of the city of Lincoln. But the workers will be paid by the Japan-based company.” In 1981 there were ten workers who were no longer needed on the payroll due to decreased sales. So, instead of laying them off, management brainstormed and discovered a way to keep them happily employed. The idea is that loyal and experienced workers save money for the company in the long run. When sales increased again, they could put them back on the assembly line.…
In this case study, we can see many differences between both cultures like for instance the fact that American leave work earlier if they could but Japanese workers tend to stay later to finish work.…
In the film Gung Ho filmed in the year 1986, the story is told of the plight of the people working in the region known as the Rust Belt. The group that is the focal point of this story is the relation between Asian men in an American town and the differences they share are played out in this movie. The stereotypes enlisted in this movie are both that of a villainous nature and a comedic relief with some of the characters. Throughout the film it is how the clever, white working class people of this hard working town have to overcome the maniacal working environment these Asian men have. Common stereotypes of the Asian man lay throughout the entire course of the movie, stereotypes that have been portrayed by the film industry of Asian men since its inception.…
A racist Korean War veteran and recent widower, Walt Kowalski is living in a crime ridden town in Detroit, Michigan. Walt’s once all White neighborhood has become occupied by the Hmong people. The Hmong people represent a part of Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Laos, and China. The Hmong came to America because during the war they fought on the American side and the Vietnamese waged a war against the Hmong people after the Americans left. Due to this change in neighbors, Walt is now forced to confront his own lingering prejudice when a troubled Hmong teen, Thao Vang Lor, from next door attempts to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, (Ford model car) Walt himself helped assemble on the care line. It is decades after the Korean War has ended, and aging veteran Walt Kowalski is still haunted by the horrors he witnessed on the battlefield.…
Jr. Whitehill, Arthur M. The International Executive: The Japanese Worker-What Makes Him Tick? (1961). Pp.19-20…
1. Why did Japan Airlines Development Company decide to develop a hotel company in the mid-1980s?…
Gung-Ho is a movie about the takeover of an American automobile factory in Hadleyville, Pennsylvania by a Japanese company. The term Gung Ho is a Chinese expression for “work together” which is what the movie is about. As the Americans and Japanese attempt to work together the viewers are able to see the cross-cultural conflicts and huge misunderstandings that happen throughout the movie because of the differences in culture, work attitude, management styles, and values between the two countries. The movie also goes on to show us exactly what the two countries think of each other. All of this is brought to you in a very funny and forgiving way where we see at the end of the movie the two sides come together and achieve a common goal. The movie is very informative when it comes to doing business in different countries. I will go over this movie from a multicultural business studies point of view. The film helps people visualize the underlying multicultural issues, particularly the concepts of Geert Hofstede.…