The USA is a place where you can show your personality freely.
You are free to listen to your heart, as long as you do not do anything illegal.
You can even joke about the president.
US cars are big, spacious and comfortable. This represents the US understanding of carelessness.
(Americans) do not attach much importance to dress, dress and decoration.
If you go on vacation to Europe in the summer and see someone in shorts, a vest and sneakers walking in front of you, he's probably from the USA.
Americans tell directly what they think is on their mind.
They don't hide anything.
Everything is practical and realistic (in the USA).
(Americans) do not like abstract thoughts and theories in their daily lives.
The title of the article and the sentences above are from the documentary "American Factory" released on Netflix. The headline question is voiced by Chinese businessperson Cao Dewang. The sentences belong to the Chinese HR manager who was appointed to Fuyao Glass, the auto factory that Dewang opened after the General Motors (GM) factory closed in the USA. Yes, the GM factory mentioned in the documentary was located in Dayton,
Combining US and Chinese culture
The purpose of this entry is in fact the reaction of the region and new employees with the business culture and habits brought by Fuyao Glass, which opened in place of GM's factory. At this point, let's again refer to the views of the HR manager of Fuayo Glass: "What we want to do here is to blend US and Chinese culture." Of course, the way of this mainstreaming is to explain the company's top management's own approaches to new employees and to organize meetings for this. One of the first questions from these meetings is whether there will be a union in Fuyao Glass. He emphasizes that the union will not be the first CEO appointed by the company's CEO, Cao Dewang, and that senior management does not want this. Meanwhile, as the documentary is quoted, workers earned $ 29 an hour before GM was shut down, while Fuayo Glass earned an hourly earning of $ 12.
The "American Factory", signed by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar, also includes the experiences of employees coming from China to train US employees. Wang of these employees primarily shares his views on Ohio and says he is very surprised that the state is flat. However, Wang points out that it is difficult to quickly integrate with everyone's ideas due to the language barrier and differences and the employment they provide. Taking the stage after Dewang, the Ohio Senator gives an unexpected speech and mentions that he wants to see a union at Fuyao Glass. Dewang met with senior management after the opening and once again states that the union will definitely not exist.
What's happening in China?
There are also parts of the documentary that take place in China and help us see the business and cultural differences between the two countries. To make this
concrete, let's listen to the anthem read at Fuyao's headquarters:
"Noble feelings be transparent, must be transparent
We went through many difficulties, we struggled
Fuayo always favors a transparent world
China is full of spring and happiness is everywhere
All blessings of Fuayo are transparent ... "
Even the songs at the New Year's party describe the production Fuyao employees sing the anthem in the lines above every morning before starting work. US employees at the company's headquarters in China are very surprised. Of course, that's not the only thing they're surprised by: Chinese employees can take 1-2 days off a month. On the other hand, the factory in the USA does not work on the
weekend.
Another point where they are surprised is the military work style. Let's explain it this way: Chinese employees are "counting from the right" every morning and the
full staff get to work. In addition, Meanwhile, another detail between the business cultures of the two companies is about the New Year's entertainment they organize: a simple and simple New Year's dinner is eaten at the factory in Ohio. In contrast, a cool party is hosted at the center in China, but even the songs in the party seem focused on how the company will increase its production and performance.
"US managers don't trust us"
Cao Dewang, who started to express his dissatisfaction with the US workers and top managers in the following parts of the documentary, dismissed the US top managers at the first stage and replaced them with Chinese managers. Dewang rationalizes this with these words: “We got US managers but they didn't trust us. I think they are enemies of the Chinese. " After that, a struggle begins to prevent the union from entering the factory and it is announced that the employees will be given a two- dollar increase in their salaries. Chinese executives are also setting up an intelligence network at the factory and starting to identify union supporters, seeking ways to dismiss them on sudanese pretexts.
To sum up, the "American Factory" allows us to see the differences in business life between the USA and China. There are differences between the two countries' new year meals and their military work styles. In the words of Dewang, "American Factory," which was awarded the Best Documentary Oscar this year; “The important thing is not how much money we make; He thinks about how the US will change the Chinese, and the Chinese view of the US "to change. (Also, an opinion-i follow-up note: Fuyao Glass has been making profits since 2018, but job security continues to be a problem).