After reading the articles, the concepts which are monochronic and polychromic really made me feel interested. People always compare these two cultures and match them into different countries. Monochronic culture refers to do just one thing at a time. They value a certain orderliness and sense of there being an appropriate time and place for everything. They do not value interruptions. They like to concentrate on the job at hand and take time commitments very seriously. On the contrary, Polychronic cultures like to do multiple things at the same time and a more fluid approach is taken to scheduling time. Also, in a polychronic culture, people attach more importance into relationships, rather than watching the clock. They have no problem being “late” for an event if they are with family or friends, because the relationship is what really matters. This is really amazing. I’ve been to plenty of countries, they are indeed could be defined into either monochromic or polychronic. For example, France is a typical polychronic country because according to my observation, French people do not value interruptions. My cousin is studying there and she told me that the French do not mind being late in a party or meeting because they do not value a certain orderliness. However, Japan is totally different from France, which is supposed to be regarded as a monochronic culture. In Japan, people are all expected to concentrate on job at hand and take time commitments very seriously. The majority of Japanese will not be late at working.
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