Hello daddouche-ga,
The consensus of the research I found indicates that the Chinese
people are generally polychronic. I?ve included several citations that
discuss evidence of this. I?ve also included some links that discuss
the difference between monochromic and polychronic cultures. Please
don?t hesitate to ask for clarification if any of this is not clear.
All the best.
~ czh ~
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CHINESE TIME ORIENTATION
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http://homepages.wmich.edu/~j9schmid/culture.html
Orientation Toward Time in Business
Time orientation is drastically different among societies of China and
the United States for these aforementioned reasons. Monochronic and
polychronic time orientation are one of the differences because of the
varied cultures. Monochonic time involves taking on one thing at a
time. These people try to be very punctual and stick to a schedule.
They are very organized and consist in low-context cultures.
Information and precision are key factors to people and societies that
operate in a monochronic time format. Polychronic time, on the other
hand, is the complete opposite. These cultures, such as China, are
accustomed to dealing with many different things at the same time.
They are prone to interruptions, tardiness, and changing plans. The
main concerns lie with the people whom are closest to them (WWU). In
China, you may have an appointment with a client at noon. It is
almost customary for you to show up after the appointment time. If
you show up at 1 o?clock or after, they probably will not think twice
about your absence. If this same practice were to happen in the
United States, you probably have little chance of doing business
because of it.
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http://www.tristate.edu/faculty/herbig/pahccn10.htm
The Dimension of Time in Negotiations
The Chinese with over 5000 years of cultural heritage have a different
perspective on time. When Mao Tse Tung was asked what he thought of
the French Revolution, he replied (only half-joking), ?It is too soon
to tell.? Producing a satisfactory agreement in as short a time as
possible may be one of the least concerns of the Chinese. The Chinese
generally believe that a considerable amount of time should be
invested in establishing a general climate of understanding, trust,
and willingness to help, in matters quite apart from the issues
brought to the b table. They do not view time as a constraint or as a
set of limits in which a particular task must be completed.
For the Chinese, since time is cyclical, deadlines are not understood
and not therefore restrictive. Chinese see the negotiating process as
an opportunity to elicit as much information as possible, particularly
that of a technical nature. This tendency may be associated with the
issue of face and their reluctance to display ignorance. They tend
to understand in terms of wholes and total systems and their
appreciation of technology may be limited until they have grasped how
the diverse elements fit into the system. The Chinese approach is
rather to negotiating process to establish a human relationship, often
essentially dependent nature, and therefore, their prime goal to
create the bonding of ?friendship.?
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http://www.workforce.com/section/09/feature/23/56/96/
The China Puzzle
Global companies face a gargantuan task in the 21st century: managing
employees worldwide. How well organizations handle talent wars, the
shift to localized management and cultural issues will make--or
break--them.
At the same time, the Chinese--who actually invented performance
management in the 16th century with a system for evaluating imperial
officials--bring some powerful ideas and talents to the
multinationals. Ming-Jer Chen, founder of the Wharton School?s Global
Chinese Business Initiative, notes in his 2001 book Inside Chinese
Business that the traditional emphasis on cultivating trust-based
personal relationships (guanxi at work) with partners, vendors and
customers makes it easier to adjust to market shifts and
opportunities. And Chinese orientation toward polychronic, or
"many-timed," thinking helps Chinese managers to juggle many tasks
simultaneously, rather than prioritizing some but neglecting others,
as an American might.
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http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:a53hE87PolAJ:www.etgmr.com/gmrjan-mar3/art3.html+polychronic+chinese&hl=en
Spanning the chasm of culture gap
Rigid and fluid time cultures ? Box 5
Moderately monochromic business culture
Australia/New Zealand, Russia and most of East-Central Europe,
Southern Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South Korea,
South Africa
***** This article classifies China as moderately monochronic instead
of polychronic as most of the other articles do.
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DISCUSSION OF CONCEPTS ? POLYCHRONIC AND MONOCHRONIC
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http://intermundo.net/glossary_term.pl?mid=19
polychronic
The concept of polycronic / monochronic cultures has been introduced by E.T. Hall.
In polycronic cultures, multiple tasks are handled at the same time,
and time is subordinate to interpersonal relations.
http://intermundo.net/glossary_term.pl?mid=20
monochronic
The concept of polycronic / monochronic cultures has been introduced by E.T. Hall.
In monochronic cultures, "one thing at a time" and "time is money" are
important concepts - and interpersonal relations are subordinate to
the time.
See also: polychronic
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http://www.csub.edu/tlc/options/resources/handouts/fac_dev/culturalbarries.html
Transcending Cultural Barriers: Context, Relationships, and Time
Monochronic/Polychronic Time. Time can be thought of as a straight
line or as a circle: the linear, sequential march of days and years,
or the rotation of the seasons. Our cultural orientation has a
profound effect on our daily lives and business functions. As Edward
and Mildred Hall have noted, "It is impossible to know how many
millions of dollars have been lost in international business because
monochronic and polychronic people do not understand each other or
even realize that two such different time systems exist" (Hall & Hall,
1989, p. 16).
Monochronic time is one-track linear: people do one thing at a time.
Polychronic time is multi-track circular; it allows many things to
happen simultaneously, with no particular end in sight. Monochronic
time is tightly compartmentalized: schedules are almost sacred.
Polychronic time is open-ended: completing the task or communication
is more important than adhering to a schedule.
People from polychronic and monochronic cultures have the same
difficulties adjusting to one another as people from high-context and
low-context cultures. In fact, polychronic time is characteristic of
high-context people and monochronic time is characteristic of
low-context people. Similarly, the first approach tends to
characterize Southern cultures, while the second rules in the North
(with some notable exceptions). Monochronic people tend to sequence
communications as well as tasks. They would not be inclined, for
instance, to interrupt a phone conversation in order to greet a third
person. Polychronic people can carry on multiple conversations
simultaneously - indeed, they would consider it rude not to do so.
***** Be sure to read the whole article. Table 2.2 Common Time
Differences in Business is particularly interesting for comparing
Monochronic and Polychronic people?s behaviors.
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http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-pol2.htm
Polychronic
Traditionally, cultures are divided into monochronic (where time is
regarded as linear, people do one thing at a time and lateness and
interruptions are not tolerated) and polychronic (where time is seen
as cyclical, punctuality is unimportant and interruptions are
acceptable).
[Daily Telegraph, Dec. 1999]
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http://www.innovint.com/downloads/mono_poly_test.asp
A Monochronic/Polychronic Self Test)
This instrument is designed to assist you in understanding your
personal cultural preferences, with respect to both work style and
management style. It may serve as an indicator of how you might adapt
in certain organizations and global regions.
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SEARCH STRATEGY
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polychronic
polychronic Chinese |
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