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Gung Ho: Assan Hadleyville Case
When Hunt arrives in Assan Motors, there is a tension between the executive officer in charge and the management. The mistake is that the company is not performing, and he has been given the last chance to perform. There is tension between the Japanese management and the American workers, which gives Hunt a big challenge on his job. Moreover, there is no compliance by the workers in the firm, in addition to a clash of the culture between the American workers and the Japanese management.
The Japanese use training techniques and working practices that are not familiar to Americans. One of the approaches is paying lower wages to workers and taking advantage of their labor to overwork them. Another practice is making Americans adopt the Japanese culture and behavior such as doing calisthenics in the morning. The third is poor working ethics and morality, such as bathing together in the river. These practices and working approach spark resistance of the Americans.
The American employees are accustomed to fair compensation that is based on time and work, and not conditions like errors contributing to their pay. This is greatly disapproved by the Japanese management. In addition, American workers are accustomed to considerable working hours, which are disapproved by the Japanese management; that wants them to overwork in order to meet the strict goals.
Based on the drive to succeed philosophy adopted by the Japanese after the World War II, the intentions by the Japanese management are evident. One of the characteristics is setting high targets that are only possible in ideal situations. The second is the drive to achieve the ideal target when working in realistic situations. The third characteristic is the use of tricks or lies to show the workers that a target is less, when it is high in reality, as done by Hunt.
The approach of the Japanese to view the performance of the plant as a necessity is adopted from the softball sequence. One of the lessons that can be drawn is that the output of a firm can be achieved if it is made a necessity and approached from the human side of the input. This was made possible by Hunt where he was operating in extreme situations that require extreme measures.
To achieve compromise between the Japanese management and the American workers, Hunt is truthful about the car production target to workers and starts reasoning with them. It is by doing this that he understands the differences in work ethics between the Japanese management and the American workers. He also employs human relationships with the workers in order to inspire them to perform better, rather than supervise or coerce them.
In the closing sequence during the celebration of the American Independence Day, Hunt is trying to tell the crowd that the United States and Japan are similar in performance, despite differences in approach. He implies that all people can perform the same way and in better ways if left free to decide their way and work diligently. The difference is how different people are managed to achieve the same results.
In my opinion, the Assan Hadleyville plant would eventually become successful and profitable. This is because there was a behavior change in the company after the transformative initiatives by Hunt. I think the workers feel more appreciated and part of the company than before. In addition, the tension and the conflict between the workers and the management seem to get over. This is marked by the remarks by the CEO calling the workers “Good team” yet he was strict before.