Sindhi culture when it comes to understanding the value of time is related completely to the Indian culture since Sindhi’s are actually a type of Indian people. India is a polychronic culture, in other words, people tend to change priorities depending on their importance and attitudes towards punctuality are relaxed. Most large global organisations require adherence to strict deadlines and fast decision-making, so they struggle to cope with the idea that when doing business in India, time cannot be controlled and is not absolute. Being fashionably late to social events has become something that all Indians accept. This can be hard for outsiders to understand. If an event is said to start at 7:00pm most Indian guests will not arrive until 8:30pm.
Sindhi language has some connection to the value our culture gives to time. People will talk very casually about appointments they make with friends or relatives to meet. While having a conversation with someone older than you, it is considered rude to leave because you may keep looking at the clock.
It is best to be on time to things like business meetings and dinners with friends and families, however once you arrive time is not something to fret over. Introductions and greetings can tend to be extended and it is considered rude to be looking at your watch or a clock when you are in the presence of guests.
The concept of time is a very difficult thing to understand because it is a non-commutative concept. I learn it is normal for Koreans to be late when reading an article about “Korean Time”. Apparently in previous Korea, people were constantly late to various meeting and appointments. This concept of “Korean Time” is when Koreans fail to make on time to something that has been scheduled. This is socially accepted, but in current day things have slightly changed. Due to the fact of the increase in jobs with companies, many have accomplished with being on time. But, I use the word “slightly” because many are still late. After a survey was taken, more than half responded they were left waiting for someone. In my opinion, “Korean Time” is seen an issue because being constantly late indicates people can not distribute their time evenly.
South Korea leans towards the monochronic spectrum with regards to time. Perhaps this was different, but Korea might've begun to lean more to the monochronic side as it modernized and adopted Western approaches. (Or perhaps Korea has always been monochronic.) People are expected to be prompt, put the job first, and view time as a commodity that isn't to be wasted. This is odd to me, though, because in researching about opportunities to teach English in Korea, I've heard that a foreigner might not finalize a teaching position until 1-3 months before schools commence--something that just wouldn't happen in heavily-monochronic America.
I consider myself very punctual and get a little bit upset when I have to wait. Ever since I know of myself, my parents taught me the importance of being "on time". For example, if a meeting starts at 3pm, I would always come to the meeting at least 5 minutes earlier. I follow the rule "Better early than late!" When I was in Turkey, I was very surprised how Turkish people are so relaxed and laid back. Simply, they do not pay too much attention to whether they are going to be late for an event or not. I remember when I was at my friend's house in Turkey, we called over some friends to come for dinner at 6pm. When it was around 5.30pm I asked my friend when are we going to prepare dinner because our friends are coming in only half an hour and we basically did not prepare any food. My friend told me not to worry, and that we have enough time because even though our friends were invited to come over at 6pm they were not going to come until 7pm. And she was correct! Our friends came around 7:30pm! They were late for about an hour and a half I was even more convinced about this Turkish culture when I met some other Turkish people at the University of Richmond. I can say that majority of Turkish people that I know and am friends with are always late, no matter whether it is for a meeting, class or an event. All in all, I can only say that they are very relaxed and laid back and they find it normal to be late. This is very interesting and in a way similar to my country's culture (I am an exception to this rule) where most people are always late. For example, a Bosnian friend of mine who lives in Richmond got married last year. She had two types of wedding invitations. One type of invitations was only for Bosnian where it said that the wedding starts at 5pm, and the other type of invitations was for Americans which indicated that the wedding starts at 6pm. They knew that Bosnian will take 5pm as if it was 6pm and will be at least an hour late. However, Americans are generally very punctual and therefore the correct time of the wedding was written on the invitation. When I told this to my Turkish friend, she told me that a similar situation happened when her cousin was organizing a birthday party, and the party started at noon, but he sent out the invitations to his Turkish friends indicating that the party starts at 11am.
Another interesting fact that I learned about Turkish culture and its people is that time actually does not mean much to them. For example, when Turkish people take a coffee break, which would take us 5-10 minutes, such breaks last at least 45 minutes to them. I talked about this with my language partner and several more Turkish people that I know, and they all said that majority of Turks are like that. When they go for a coffee or Turkish tea, they usually stay so long that it basically should not be considered a coffee break but a lunch break.
We read an article, in Professor Nuray's class, that there are some cultures, such as Turkey, in which people think that so much time is given to everybody and that people do not have to rush with anything because they have so much time, while other cultures believe that time is limited and should not be wasted. It just depends on culture as well as on individuals how they perceive time and what their attitude towards time is. Speaking in general, I can definitely say that Turkish people tend to be more relaxed when it comes to meeting deadlines, coming to an event at time, and being on time. I say this based on my experience, conversation with Turkish people and research I have done regarding this topic.
The attitude towards time in Bangladesh is mixed. For social events, everyone is lax about when to leave and get to the event. They are conscious about being there early more than they are about getting there late. In this case, the concept of being "fashionably late" is quite applicable. However, when it comes to official business for corporate, governmental, and educational matters time is of the essence. But the idea of arriving early still does not apply in those situations; they would rather be on the dot or a few minutes late rather than being hours late.
This idea of time is prevalent in the language because there are certain phrases that Bengalis will use to talk about their schedule. For example, if they are just leaving the house and someone is inquiring about where they are (for a social event) they will say "I'm almost there" (eyje eshe gisi) or "I'm there" (aysi). This type of language would be confusing to westerners, but for Bengalis such responses are expected and while most don't mind (as long as the person isn't TOO late) others will be irritated by such timing. This is because as times become more modern, Bengalis' schedules are more busy and they have other activities or work to attend to. The socio-economic status of a Bengali is the main indicator of how lax they are with their time. The middle class tends to be the most time conscious while the lower classes tend to be the least.
There are different attitudes about Time in Israel. The majority of the country, especially the younger generation, is leaning towards a Western monochronic attitude. However, this wasn't the always the case. When the rate of immigration was higher in the State of Israel in previous years, attitudes towards time were different based on the original country of the immigrants. Western immigrants were always more monochronic while Middle Eastern immigrants were more polychronic.
However, today Israel is one of the most Westernized countries in the Middle East and it is not a surprise that the culture is generally monochronic.
Replies
Sindhi culture when it comes to understanding the value of time is related completely to the Indian culture since Sindhi’s are actually a type of Indian people. India is a polychronic culture, in other words, people tend to change priorities depending on their importance and attitudes towards punctuality are relaxed. Most large global organisations require adherence to strict deadlines and fast decision-making, so they struggle to cope with the idea that when doing business in India, time cannot be controlled and is not absolute. Being fashionably late to social events has become something that all Indians accept. This can be hard for outsiders to understand. If an event is said to start at 7:00pm most Indian guests will not arrive until 8:30pm.
Sindhi language has some connection to the value our culture gives to time. People will talk very casually about appointments they make with friends or relatives to meet. While having a conversation with someone older than you, it is considered rude to leave because you may keep looking at the clock.
It is best to be on time to things like business meetings and dinners with friends and families, however once you arrive time is not something to fret over. Introductions and greetings can tend to be extended and it is considered rude to be looking at your watch or a clock when you are in the presence of guests.
The concept of time is a very difficult thing to understand because it is a non-commutative concept. I learn it is normal for Koreans to be late when reading an article about “Korean Time”. Apparently in previous Korea, people were constantly late to various meeting and appointments. This concept of “Korean Time” is when Koreans fail to make on time to something that has been scheduled. This is socially accepted, but in current day things have slightly changed. Due to the fact of the increase in jobs with companies, many have accomplished with being on time. But, I use the word “slightly” because many are still late. After a survey was taken, more than half responded they were left waiting for someone. In my opinion, “Korean Time” is seen an issue because being constantly late indicates people can not distribute their time evenly.
South Korea leans towards the monochronic spectrum with regards to time. Perhaps this was different, but Korea might've begun to lean more to the monochronic side as it modernized and adopted Western approaches. (Or perhaps Korea has always been monochronic.) People are expected to be prompt, put the job first, and view time as a commodity that isn't to be wasted. This is odd to me, though, because in researching about opportunities to teach English in Korea, I've heard that a foreigner might not finalize a teaching position until 1-3 months before schools commence--something that just wouldn't happen in heavily-monochronic America.
I consider myself very punctual and get a little bit upset when I have to wait. Ever since I know of myself, my parents taught me the importance of being "on time". For example, if a meeting starts at 3pm, I would always come to the meeting at least 5 minutes earlier. I follow the rule "Better early than late!" When I was in Turkey, I was very surprised how Turkish people are so relaxed and laid back. Simply, they do not pay too much attention to whether they are going to be late for an event or not. I remember when I was at my friend's house in Turkey, we called over some friends to come for dinner at 6pm. When it was around 5.30pm I asked my friend when are we going to prepare dinner because our friends are coming in only half an hour and we basically did not prepare any food. My friend told me not to worry, and that we have enough time because even though our friends were invited to come over at 6pm they were not going to come until 7pm. And she was correct! Our friends came around 7:30pm! They were late for about an hour and a half I was even more convinced about this Turkish culture when I met some other Turkish people at the University of Richmond. I can say that majority of Turkish people that I know and am friends with are always late, no matter whether it is for a meeting, class or an event. All in all, I can only say that they are very relaxed and laid back and they find it normal to be late. This is very interesting and in a way similar to my country's culture (I am an exception to this rule) where most people are always late. For example, a Bosnian friend of mine who lives in Richmond got married last year. She had two types of wedding invitations. One type of invitations was only for Bosnian where it said that the wedding starts at 5pm, and the other type of invitations was for Americans which indicated that the wedding starts at 6pm. They knew that Bosnian will take 5pm as if it was 6pm and will be at least an hour late. However, Americans are generally very punctual and therefore the correct time of the wedding was written on the invitation. When I told this to my Turkish friend, she told me that a similar situation happened when her cousin was organizing a birthday party, and the party started at noon, but he sent out the invitations to his Turkish friends indicating that the party starts at 11am.
Another interesting fact that I learned about Turkish culture and its people is that time actually does not mean much to them. For example, when Turkish people take a coffee break, which would take us 5-10 minutes, such breaks last at least 45 minutes to them. I talked about this with my language partner and several more Turkish people that I know, and they all said that majority of Turks are like that. When they go for a coffee or Turkish tea, they usually stay so long that it basically should not be considered a coffee break but a lunch break.
We read an article, in Professor Nuray's class, that there are some cultures, such as Turkey, in which people think that so much time is given to everybody and that people do not have to rush with anything because they have so much time, while other cultures believe that time is limited and should not be wasted. It just depends on culture as well as on individuals how they perceive time and what their attitude towards time is. Speaking in general, I can definitely say that Turkish people tend to be more relaxed when it comes to meeting deadlines, coming to an event at time, and being on time. I say this based on my experience, conversation with Turkish people and research I have done regarding this topic.
The attitude towards time in Bangladesh is mixed. For social events, everyone is lax about when to leave and get to the event. They are conscious about being there early more than they are about getting there late. In this case, the concept of being "fashionably late" is quite applicable. However, when it comes to official business for corporate, governmental, and educational matters time is of the essence. But the idea of arriving early still does not apply in those situations; they would rather be on the dot or a few minutes late rather than being hours late.
This idea of time is prevalent in the language because there are certain phrases that Bengalis will use to talk about their schedule. For example, if they are just leaving the house and someone is inquiring about where they are (for a social event) they will say "I'm almost there" (eyje eshe gisi) or "I'm there" (aysi). This type of language would be confusing to westerners, but for Bengalis such responses are expected and while most don't mind (as long as the person isn't TOO late) others will be irritated by such timing. This is because as times become more modern, Bengalis' schedules are more busy and they have other activities or work to attend to. The socio-economic status of a Bengali is the main indicator of how lax they are with their time. The middle class tends to be the most time conscious while the lower classes tend to be the least.
people in Iran are late but expect you to be on time.
this means they are polychrome people do more than one thing at a time
they are flexible about possible changes
they don't mind waiting because of overlapping schedules
http://books.google.com/books?id=yRdAcjO7uRsC&pg=PA163&dq=i...
Polychrome?
There are different attitudes about Time in Israel. The majority of the country, especially the younger generation, is leaning towards a Western monochronic attitude. However, this wasn't the always the case. When the rate of immigration was higher in the State of Israel in previous years, attitudes towards time were different based on the original country of the immigrants. Western immigrants were always more monochronic while Middle Eastern immigrants were more polychronic.
However, today Israel is one of the most Westernized countries in the Middle East and it is not a surprise that the culture is generally monochronic.