Gung Ho! (Movie 1986) Questions and Answers

1. What is going on in the opening scene?  What does the screaming indicate about the “Japanese work culture”?

Michael Kenton has a meet with Japanese leaders to make business. Japanese are very serious and strict and do not get Kenton’s jokes.

2. Describe two cultural differences Micheal Keaton encounters when he meets the Japanese Board of Directors.

a) Japanese are more formal.

b) Japanese are more serious about money issues and business.

3. Why did Micheal Keaton go to Japan?  What were the problems with his home town of Hadleyville?

Michael Kenton went to Japan to sell the Assian managers on the idea of coming to Hadleyville and reopen the factory. The problem was that Hadleyville factory has been closed for the last nine months and lots of people has lost their jobs.

4. How does the car factory closing affect the town of Hadleyville?  What is the evidence is shown in the grocery store scene to illustrate the problems?

A great plenty of people in Hadleyville work in the car factory, so they may lost their jobs.

5. Why was Micheal Keaton promoted?

Michael Kenton was promoted to work as a liaison between the Japanese management and the American workers, to make the transition easier for both and convince the workers to obey the new rules.

6. Describe what is occurring at the workers’ meeting.

American workers do not want to work for Japanese people, get lower pays and have to work harder. Michael Keaton takes an important role and promises to discuss and make the transition easier.

7. Describe four cultural differences that occur on the first day of work.  Why are the American workers laughing?

a) Japanese executives eat their lunches with chopsticks

b) Japanese executives bathe together at the river

c) Kazihiro says that they are a team and they should work as a team.

d) Callisthenics in the morning.

American workers laugh because it is strange for them these things and do not get the point of doing callisthenics in the morning.

8. Why do the Japanese install close circuit cameras in the factory?  What does this indicate about trust?

This way Japanese can keep an eye on the USA workers. Japanese people do not trust the American.

9. How does the music in the factory, the newspaper in the bathroom and smoking by the American workers contrast with the Japanese factory culture?

Japanese are shown very loyal to the job. They work hard and with no distractions at the workplace. All the funny things happen outside the timework.

10. Why do the Japanese initiate a job rotation among the factory workers?

Because this way every work can learn every job. Although, they are held to seemingly impossible standards of efficiency and quality.

11. How important is quality to the Japanese?  What evidence is there to support the importance of quality?  How does the focus on quality contrast with the workers old-style culture?

Quality is the most important thing for Japanese.

The Assan boss revises all the cars one by one.

Old-style workers only want to have work done to get paid. They do the minimum they can do.

12. State the differences between the factory workers and the management teams at the baseball game.  What does the differences between the two groups signify?

Buster cheats when he intentionally knocks a man down. Rather than contest the incident, the Japanese accept the loss and leave. The American workers want to win anyway and the Japanese want to win but following the rules.

13. Why do the women leave the table at the dinner party?  Why does Keaton’s spouse get upset about this?

Because they think business is only for men and women have nothing to say about them.

14. Why is Micheal Keaton fired?

Michael Keaton is fired because he did not reach the goal at time.

15. Why does Keaton meet the Japanese management team in the river?

Because the Japanese man is going to suicide himself. But rather than focusing on their differences, they decide to focus again on their shared goals and return to the factory to build more cars.