Gung Ho Movie Reflection
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Business Gung Ho Movie Reflection
Mr. Rubinoff- BOH4M
October 27, 2018
Written by: Markus von Wersebe
From the moment Batman Begins was released in 2005, we had the privilege of watching the greatest batman of all time in Christian Bale. Although the help from Christopher Noland and Hans Zimmer may have enhanced his performance, it was Bale’s ability to persuasively portray the man behind the mask which truly sets him apart.
In the movie Gung Ho, the character Hunt Stevenson was initially a prime example of someone who holds a theory-x belief system. This became evident as his beliefs were constantly clashing with those of his Japanese superiors, for increased employee wages. He also used money based incentives to try and motivate the employees offering raises if they were to successfully build 1500 cars in one month. However, towards the later parts of the movie he started becoming more Theory-y minded, as he believed the employees were capable of doing their jobs with less monitorization and regulations. For instance, Hunt fought for his friend Buster who had been deemed a “defect” and demoted to a janitor position, for not wanting to change his working habits. These acts ultimately revealed that Hunt’s concerns for the wellbeing of the individuals working at the plant, were more important to him than the production efficiency his superiors focused on. Additionally, in the movie Hunt put himself before the town as he lies about the guaranteed salary increase of 50% the employees would receive for achieving a goal of manufacturing 1300 car in a month. He lies in order maintain his good reputation from both his superiors and those living in the town, revealing his individual mid-set. Yet, as the movie progressed he began incorporating some of the theory-z beliefs and values into his own management system. He understood that the American system wasn’t perfect, and that he had many things to learn from the Japanese. It became clear to him that the American way was too individual, since they only care about their own personal well being, completely disregarding the companys interests. By noticing this inherent flaw, Hunt sought out to make a change through unifying the employees as a team. Hunt then motivated them to go back to work to save the town, making them work as generalist and not specialist to speed up the manufacturing process. By the end of the movie he had successfully reshaped the employees to work with the towns interests in mind and not just their own. Proving that Hunt had also reshaped his own leadership style reaching a middle ground between theory-y and theory-z.
Japanese and American cultures differ significantly, and these differences have important implications for workers in both cultures. Japanese culture is largely collectivist while the American culture is much more individualistic. In Japan, the company comes first for those working within it. Workers take extreme pride in the work they are doing. So, if it is also bound up with the company they work at, then they will feel duly responsible to it. This is why you often see Japanese workers spending many hours working overtime without any expectation of extra benefits. They are very willing to do this due to the responsibility they feel to the company, and their desire to accomplish their job as perfectly as possible. This is also why you see Japanese workers willing to forgo opportunities for better paying jobs at other companies. They commit themselves to one company, and are not willing to actively betray it for their own individual gain. For these reasons we can see that Japanese workers fit management theory Z as their companies hire them for the long term, and through this the workers dedicate themselves solely to that company. The workers are expected to work as well as they can and sacrifice for the company, and for that loyalty the company returns its loyalty as it hires them with the expectation that they continue to work for them