A Research on Time—consciousness in the International Business Culture

胡柏翠++王若貽

【Abstract】With the globalization of world economy， international business culture has been increasingly significant. International commercial communication becomes unprecedentedly frequent. While most businessmen find that studying business culture is complicated and time consuming， knowing the basic guidelines will help them a lot. All interpersonal relationships are guided by widely accepted rules of what is and is not appropriate behavior. And it boils down to kindness， courtesy and respect. Different backgrounds and different cultures have given people different ideas and communicative methods， and the understanding of their time concepts is a very important aspect. Different concepts of time are reflected in intercultural communication， which inevitably leads to communication barriers and even conflicts. This is such an important factor in business communication that we have to obey. As a saying goes：one who knows more about the value of time will feel the pain of the blind， but in todays international business world， doing as what “When in Rome， do as the Romans do” is not enough. Different countries have their own customs. According to the principle of time-keeping， peoples behaviors in business communication are vastly different. Therefore， a research on time-consciousness in the international business culture is especially necessary.

【Key words】international business； etiquette； time-consciousness

Introduction

International business exchanges are becoming increasingly frequent and people have more opportunities to deal with people from other countries. However， due to historical， religious and geographical reasons， etiquette norms and taboos vary from country to country. It is important to understand the business etiquette and the differences between their native country and other countries. Its no longer enough to say “when in Rome， do as Romans do.” Chances are that the people you work with arent actually from the country you are living in so all the normal rules of local culture might not apply.

Thanks to home-office technology， we can now conduct business in pajamas. It is unnecessary to personally interact on a daily basis with colleagues and clients as we once had to. But modern people are not hermits. We still live in a world that does interact. In order to achieve any real success， you need a certain level of decorum as well as worldwide time-consciousness. In fact， time-consciousness is more important than ever. Especially when you are meeting someone for the first time， time-consciousness has the most impact. Because we have all heard the phrase， “You have only one chance to make a first impression.” Usually this is related to interviewing or meeting new people. Imagine sitting across the table with the top management of a large company. It is critical that you win their support in order to land this account. You spent hours and nights preparing your proposal， but neglect to get up early on that important morning， and you arrive late for the appointment. Will you get their support？Obviously， they will not form supportive conclusion for your tardiness.endprint

1. The Tardiness Taboo

Some countries attach great importance to time-keeping. If they have an appointment with someone， they are accustomed to arriving on time or even early .On the contrast， lateness should not be blamed in the other country and most people see it as a normal thing. Imagine a person of the second kind of country doing business with one from time-keeping country， the result is scarcely thinkable. While there is another kind of country， people have a free attitude towards time arrangement. For example， if the appointed time is eight oclock， it is acceptable that we arrive late or early. Of course， do not arrive there late or early too much.

However， when we discuss the tardiness taboo， the most important guideline is the most fundamental：Dont be late， never ever. The practical way is to figure out how long it takes to get to your meeting point and allow extra time. Its better to arrive early than risk tardiness. For interviews and other important events， do a practice run in advance to clock the drive and make sure you know the route， if you arrive more than 10 minutes ahead of schedule， take a short walk before going inside. Arriving too early can rattle the person whom you are meeting.

2. Different Time-consciousness in Different Cultures

Time-keeping is valued by most Nordic countries， such as America， Germany and Japan. In their eyes， time plays an essential role in life and they cherish it as treasure. Whats more， time-keeping is the golden rule in their social etiquette. No matter in business affairs or in ordinary date， they would rather arrive in advance than reach late regardless of what difficulties they encounter. Especially， in business， punctuality shows the respect and sincerity of clients which makes cooperation much easier to be reached.

However， the principle of time-keeping does not apply in India， most Latin America countries and so on. From their perspective， time makes sense but it has no power. As a consequence， for lots of people who study abroad or travel in these countries， waiting is a basic thing that they must learn. For example， an Indian makes an appointment with his girlfriend for going shopping at ten o ‘clock. Generally， he will set out from home ahead of time. However， on the way to the shopping mall， if he comes across a old friend who is familiar with. Not surprisingly， it is possible that he turns into a café and talks about the old days full of enthusiasm with his friend. After enjoying himself， maybe it is nearly half past ten. Unhurriedly， he starts walking to the shopping mall. What happens next？When the man arrive at the destination， his girlfriend just say “Honey， I just got here！”. And then they have a nice day together.endprint

In China， Russia and France， the concept of time is uncertain. Most people are not inclined to an exact time. In other words， they prefer to specify a time to give themselves more flexibility .As a Chinese， nine o ‘clock means ten to nine and ten past nine. When you ask them when they will arrive， the standard answer is “Ill be right there”. But maybe it will take a while at most of time. Anyway， it is their lifestyle.

In intercultural business communication， the difference in time concept is more obvious which cause lots of communication and coordination issues. David is a 60 year old American. He is strict with the requirement of punctuality. One day， an advertising agency from Chinese makes an appointment with him in order to talk about the design of a AD. Both of them are looking forward to the discussion and they prepare carefully. The agency rings for a taxi ahead of arrangement time. Unfortunately， the driver is not familiar with the route to the company .Worse still， they are caught in a traffic jam thus the Chinese is half an hour late for the meeting. At first， he is intended to contact to David for the sake of explaining the situation. Yet， he thinks， it is easier to get an understanding of the lateness face to face. Finally， when the man rushes to the company， David selects getting up and leaving the office instead of welcoming the man and starting the conversation. For David， it is his usual practice towards the person who is late for appointments .Certainly， the talks breaks up and the man leaves the company with bad mood. What causes this impasse？Apparently， it can be avoided. The Americans pay attention to the time and the necessity of time-keeping while the Chinese consider that it doesnt matter for lateness and he will be forgiven if the American knows about the condition. Naturally， the conflict takes place， which results in a irretrievable consequences.

3. Conclusion

The difference of time perception reflects the psychological tendency and cultural accumulation of people from different cultures. The concept of time is gradually formed and is relatively stable over a certain period of time， but they are not static. With the development of economy and the progress of society， especially the increasing number of people in the middle and western countries， these will undoubtedly have some influence on their time perception. As the deep factor of their respective cultures， the Chinese and western time concepts have its inveterate side， which is difficult to eliminate in a short time. Their differences are not only expressed in the expression of nonverbal systems， but also in their thoughts， words and actions.endprint

For successful intercultural business communication， businessmen must first overcome “ethnic splitting”， which means observing， evaluation and management business in their own code of conduct， culture standard and thought pattern， because it can not only make the cultural conflict difficult to mediate， but also new contradictions will ensue. Once you miss the right time， you wont be able to recover the loss of your understanding of time.

When businessmen conduct business with customers from other countries， they must learn another countrys rules of etiquette， including their time concept. Their organizations can send them to courses and training. If there is no such training， they can be proactive and go to the library or bookstore to check out a book on the business etiquette of the particular country. You will come across as respectful and professional if you take time to do your homework and prepare. You may be able to conduct business without prior preparation， but you will be more successful if you embrace and respect their way of doing things.

References：

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[3]Deepak Malhotra.（2007）.Negotiation genius.New York：Bantam Dell Pub Group.

[4]尹小瑩.外貿英語會話[M].西安：西安交通大學出版社，1996.

作者簡介：

胡柏翠（1981.6-），女，大連財經學院國際商學院副教授。

王若貽（1996.12-），女，大連財經學院國際商學院，本科生。endprint