Gung Ho! Discussion Questions 1. In the opening scenes Hunt observes Kaz being berated in a Japanese “management development center”. According to at least one expert, this is a close representation of Japanese disciplinary practices. Would such an approach be possible in an American firm? How does this scene illustrate different perspectives and approaches to motivation? Reinforcement? Feedback? No, I don’t not thing such a thing would be possible in American business. An employer would risk a lawsuit, assuming the employee doesn’t just walk out first. American’s don’t hold company loyalty to as high importance as the Japanese. American’s own self-respect, self-preservation, and ego are far more important to them than any company. A shaming tactic would only anger American employees into walking out, not motivate them into trying harder. 2. …show more content…
How do the scenes where the Japanese Manager’s wife was about to give birth and the American worker who wanted to take his child to a doctor’s appointment illustrate cultural differences in focus? These scenes reflect the American idea of self-focus and individualism, and the Japanese idea of group-focus and collectivism. When the American employee wanted to leave to be with his son, hunt says, “he lives for his kids,” and the Kaz replies, “But the work suffers.” In America, it far more important to us to be with our individual families and care for them, than it is to care for the company. It’s the opposite in Japan as reflected by the Japanese employee who stayed to help the company, even when his wife is giving birth. He acted for the good of the
Ethan Watters and Michael Moss express two separate pieces of literary works that display different scenarios, but express the same message. Watters sets forth a phenomenon in which an entire culture is modified for the better of industry in Japan. With this circumstance, Watters argues that the ‘total environment’ in which a demographic is set can be altered by the influence of outside sources. Moss relates a similar example, where a certain group is marketed to, and as a result, this group’s relationship with the product drastically increases. There are many differences in the two works, but both researches contain many similarities; marketing techniques, ethical views, etcetera. The main thing that is most common in both texts is type
One of the larger aspects of this book is cultural collision. This can be seen from the many times Lia and the doctors would disagree with each other because of their cultural differences. The Lee’s
Karen Ho, in “Biographies of Hegemony” explains how investment bankers, the high forces on Wall Street, influence undergraduates while negatively contributing to societal norms. In “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan,” Ethan Watters illustrates and explains how the Western conception of an illness has been deliberately exported to Japan. In both of these texts, there is a clear overlap between the themes of cultural narratives and personal choices. Cultural narratives in a given society help shape the community and allow an individual to get a better understanding of the general principals and societal norms. For examples, narratives such as a culture of smartness in Ho’s essay and marking strategies in Watters’ essay, allow an
Through the personal stories of his hair, love life, and behavior, Liu is able to show the effects of his assimilation. The second section deals with Liu’s struggles to conform to white stereotypes as an Asian American. With his personal anecdotes, he establishes himself as a more credible source to speak on the subject of assimilation. The second section uses narration to provide evidence about Liu’s definition of assimilation.
In the short story “An Offering of Rice”, by Mavis Hara, the protagonist’s father, Otosan, encounters various indirect conflicts with his family while trying to survive with them inside a dirty, cramped house in a poor neighborhood in Hawaii. Otosan’s traditional beliefs sometimes spread through the family, causing backlash and bitterness. He struggles to understand how education is more important than money, and because he is a meaner character in the story, he harshly disciplines Kei, who “had felt the belt before” (2), and yells at Nii-san, who is trying to argue that one more year of education will earn more money for the family. Otosan responds by saying “men have to work” (2). This quote signifies how Otosan sees on a need-to-have basis and how his biggest concern is for control of the family, and that he should be overbearing and oppressive in order to achieve his means.
The historical fiction Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is an almost quintessential illustration of the idea that love can exist anywhere without parameters. Clearly, this idea is seen with the relationship between Henry Lee, a Chinese American boy residing in Seattle, and Keiko Okabe, a Japanese American girl who falls victim to the atrocious Japanese American internment policy put forth by the United States government during World War 2. Despite the clashes and deep-seated hatred both of their Old World cultures had for one another, Henry and Keiko developed a relationship that transgressed such feelings of animosity. As the plot of the novel progresses, it becomes apparent to the audience that certain items are pivotal when influencing the course of the novel. Without these significant aspects in play, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet most likely would have taken a route disparate from the original course of the novel. Let us scrutinize these items so that we may better understand their vital importance to the story line.
The differences in Ichiro’s family contributed to his self-hatred and seemingly lost identity. To him, he was the “emptiness between the one and the other and could see flashes of the truth that was true for his parents and the truth that was true for his brother” (Okada, 19). He did not want to be Japanese because he did not know the language and was consumed with anger and hatred towards his parents because even they weren’t any less Japanese even after living in America for thirty-five years, thus utterly rejecting America (Okada, 19). In addition, his mother’s defiance of the reality of Japan’s loss in the war and their inability to go back to Japan as she hoped for, as well as his father’s lack of control and courage only increases his desire to not be Japanese. However, Ichiro’s
Money. A word that captures all peoples attention was scarce among the Asian - American community. The low wages drove both parents into the work force and changed the roles of women in the family. The Asian way of the wife being submissive in all activities and only working at home with the children changed with the move to America. The wife’s working made a more equal standing in the household but also deprived the children of a quality home life. The importance of women in Asia is non-existent. For example: women had to walk behind their husbands in Asian culture but in American culture they rose to equal standing because of their work status.
The Japanese and their rabid ethnocentrism have their effect on the narrator’s family. The family is generally happy and well structured. The narrator lives with his mother, father, little sister and grandfather. As mentioned before, the narrator’s family pressures him to be better than the Japanese students. Upon returning home after being beaten, the men of the house invite him to eat with them and drink wine. This is a strong scene that is filled with the proudness of a parent for their son. Simply standing up to a
Everyone kills, and everyone eats. Not everyone eats what they kill, but these remain two of the most intimate forms of communing with our environment, whether we recognize them as such, or not. Almost 40 000 Americans are killed each year as the result of homicidal, accidental, and suicidal uses of guns; in all, Americans wielding guns intimidate, wound, and kill hundreds of thousands every year. These were the kinds of ideas impressed upon me as I grew up in my urban home: Guns were beasts, as were knives, arrows, spears, indeed anything could become a weapon if held in a particular way. We sprayed each other with the hose instead of water guns, and spent many long hours as a family "communing with nature" through long walks on the
Our children do not have individuality. They are just robots.” Japanese may be more hard working and have more patience with school work than the Americans but, the Japanese have no style or individualism. The Americans think with a creative mind and everyone has a different of life. In this passage, Stigler and Li both believe that changing the the East and the West culture is hard, but that it is possible to think in different ways that would benefit both the East and West culture.
In the short story, "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan, a Chinese mother and daughter are at odds with each other. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy, while the daughter (like most children with immigrant parents) seeks to find herself in a world that demands her Americanization. This is the theme of the story, conflicting values. In a society that values individuality, the daughter sought to be an individual, while her mother demanded she do what was suggested. This is a conflict within itself. The daughter must deal with an internal and external conflict. Internally, she struggles to find herself. Externally, she struggles with the burden of failing to meet her mother’s expectations. Being a first-generation Asian American,
Lowe makes note that throughout history, people native of the large Asian countries such as the China, Japanese, Korean, (Asian) Indian, have long played “crucial roles in the building and the sustaining of America”. And for anyone to challenge that statement would be a fool. For instance, a great deal of Hawaii’s plantation immigrant workers was of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino descent. But often, their efforts have been left unnoticed, left
The parallel of being successful and famous is symbolized in the character Shirley Temple, a 1960’s white television child that became popular from her acting and cute appearance (ENG 114). The pianist to Mrs. Woo becomes the perfect representation of her American dream and assurance that it is possible for immigrants to become prosperous. Jing-mei is seen in the story rebelling against her mother by invoking her “own will, [and] right to fall short of expectations” (240). This characterization is equivalent to American individualism that employs the principle of favoring freedom of action for the individual over the collective, or in this case for Mrs. Woo. These opposing values continuously clash and create distance within the mother and daughter relationship. The immigrant expectations of success for a better life in America coupled with American values of freedom and individuality provokes and sustains the rift in the family’s bond.
Kelly’s company put her in an unrealistic situation of requiring an answer within two days of extending her the position abroad. Kelly’s company should not have assumed because she had great success in business relationships in London and Germany, which have similar cultures to the United States, it would have implied she would have been just as successful in Japan. The company lacked in preparing her in the customs and cultural ways of the Japanese, instead only considering the financial compensation as enough motivating factor. The company should have provided training of Japanese for the family, assisted in Joe’s networking in Tokyo to locate a job and should have been readily available for Kelly’s family with any questions and provide timely follow-up. Kelly lacked in doing her due diligence into the Japanese culture and fully understand what it would take to move her family abroad. A little research on her part into Japanese culture, customs and etiquette would have provided her with forethought on how to handle herself in Japanese