Post 219: Monochronic vs Polychronic cultures-Is it okay to be fashionably late for a business appointment?

Post 219: The Concept of Time in the US vs Other countries--When is it okay to be fashionably late for a business appointment?

In the United States, time is linear. Americans value punctuality. You have to be on time for appointments, dates, parties and other events. If you are late for a job interview, you can say goodbye to that job.

Chronemics concerns concepts of time and the rules that gov- 
ern its use. There are many cultural variations regarding how people under- 
stand and use time. Edward Hall (1966) distinguished between monochronic 
and polychronic time orientation. People who have a monochronic concept of 
time regard it as a commodity: time can be gained, lost, spent, wasted, or saved. 
In this orientation, time is linear, with one event happening at a time. In gen- 
eral, monochronic cultures value being punctual, completing tasks, and keeping 
to schedules. Most university staff and faculty in the United States maintain a 
monochronic orientation to time. Classes, meetings, and office appointments 
start when scheduled; faculty members see one student at a time, hold one meet- 
ing at a time, and keep appointments except in the case of emergency. Family 
problems are considered poor reasons for not fulfilling academic obligations — 
for both faculty and students. (Nakayama, 278)

In other countries like Italy, it is okay to be fashionably late. And in some parts of China, it is not as necessary to be on time because at a business meeting Chinese businessmen like to mingle, network first before conducting a business deal so if you are late to a meeting, you did not miss anything. In other countries, relationships are more important than being on time.

In contrast, in a polychronic orientation, time is more holistic, and perhaps 
more circular: Several events can happen at once. Many international business 
negotiations and technical assistance projects falter and even fail because of  
differences in time orientation. For example, U.S. businesspeople often complain 
that meetings in the Middle East do not start “on time,” that people socialize 
during meetings, and that meetings may be canceled because of personal obli- 
gations. Tasks often are accomplished because of personal relationships, not in 
spite of them. International students and business personnel observe that U.S. 
Americans seem too tied to their schedules; they suggest that U.S. Americans 
do not care enough about relationships and often sacrifice time with friends and 
family to complete tasks and keep appointments. 

International students in the US complain that Americans are so tied to their schedules that Americans are willing to sacrifice time with friends and family just for money. As a result, if you are a businessman in another country, you need to be aware of the cultural time orientation of your country. If you are in a polychronic culture, then as in Rome do as the Romans as the cliche goes, just say it is okay for your international client to be late, it is okay if he cancels last minute, what is more important is preserving that business contact/relationship. The international client will be grateful next time and will be more willing to do business with you if you excuse his lateness or his absence and the international client will get the impression that you did your homework to learn their culture. Learning the time orientation of where you are improves your chances of intercultural business relationships.

I remember going to parties in France and it was okay for us to be late to parties and nobody minded or if I had a dinner date with many friends, it was okay to drop in late without any recriminations. I liked the relaxed atmosphere of the French and the long dinners we had with no hurry to a schedule. I also liked being able to talk politics with my French friends for hours at a time outside in a French cafe. I was amazed how much American politics French people knew when I knew almost nothing about French politics! I loved having dinner until midnight as time was seen in a more holistic light and being with friends was more important than business. Only after the relationship was cemented and a bond of trust occurred, would you do business.

In Italy, I experienced the same sensation of relaxation towards time. What I liked about polychronic cultures was that the 'task' or the 'schedule' was less important than the friendships and the relationships. Meanwhile, French and Italian International students complain Americans are always looking at their watches, and their relationships are superficial since all they care about is business, being on time and the task at hand. But Americans want to seal the deal first and then get down to eat and have a relationship. Intercultural communication takes an understanding of the difference between monochronic culture and polychronic culture.