This paper examines the leadership style of Hunt Stevenson, the main character in the 1986 movie, "Gung Ho," directed by Ron Howard. It uses concepts discussed in class to determine what kind of leader he makes as he becomes the employee liaison between an American automobile factory taken over by a fictional Japanese corporation. The resulting clash between cultural approaches, management principles, and economic pressures provides an interesting glimpse into effective leadership and the ways it has an impact on productivity and motivation in the workplace.
In "Gung Ho," Michael Keaton plays Hunt Stevenson, a resident of a small town called Hadleyville that is in the midst of a severe economic depression. The town's single main employer, an automobile manufacturing plant, has closed, and Hunt has been recruited by his fellow townspeople to travel to Japan to persuade the Assan Motor Company to take over, reopen the factory, and revitalize the town.
Hunt is obviously a born leader, the kind of enthusiastic, optimistic person who inspires others to think big. He is also clueless about the larger world and the chances of his plan actually succeeding. At the start of the film, his optimism and "can do" attitude carry him 14,000 miles to plead his case before a boardroom filled with executives who speak a different language, literally and in their approach to doing business.
Despite his ineptitude as a salesman, his leadership zeal convinces the Japanese to accept his plan. They appoint Hunt as employee liaison, expecting him to translate their way of doing things to the American workers at the factory. Hunt is able to rally the troops at first because he can talk to them in ways they understand. He does not focus on trying to get the men to learn the ways of their new bosses. Instead, he gets them to do what the Japanese want by finding ways to have those actions make sense to the workers.
Hunt uses a little bit ...