American Factory

9/19/2020

You always read about "cultural differences" as being something that must be overcome when dealing with international projects, but that language always felt so abstract to me; if anything, it seemed like more of an excuse as to why things might be delayed rather than a real problem. This doc did a great job of telling the story of what that concept really means in practice. _American Factory_ shows you how much friction is created due to the incongruity in cultural ideas about work ethic, personal freedoms, power, and process. I think that was the highlight of the story for me. For me as an American, there were also feelings of frustration about having a country that doesn't have an answer for these people; their life goes from making $29 working for a US company, to making $12 for a C

9/16/2026

When a Chinese glass company decides to invest in a former GM motor car factory in the USA, there is local excitement about the prospects of it employing a couple of thousand Ohians and helping to reinvigorate a state that has suffered years of steady industrial decline. Maybe unsurprisingly, though, it doesn't take long for some clashes of culture to take affect between the largely domestic workforce and their Chinese management. The minimum wage is set at $14 per hour and that isn't likely to change at any time soon; the staff aren't quite treated as cattle but their performance targets are pretty much set in stone - and woebetides anyone who falls short. What's obvious is that minimising costs is key - there are even staff employed to sift through the broken glass sorting colour from co