Concepts of time

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 469.

Differing perceptions of time are another factor that can lead to misunder­standings. An executive from North America or Germany attaches one mean­ing to time; an executive from Latin America, Ethiopia, or Japan attaches another. Let's say that a salesperson from Chicago calls on a client in Mexico City. After spending 30 minutes in the outer office, the person from Chicago feels angry and insulted, assuming, "This client must attach a very low priority to my visit to keep me waiting half an hour." In fact, the Mexican client does not mean to imply anything at all by this delay. To the Mexican, a wait of 30 minutes is a matter of course.

Or let's say that a New Yorker is trying to negotiate a deal in Ethiopia. This is an important deal, and the New Yorker assumes that the Ethiopians will give the matter top priority and reach a decision quickly. Not so. In Ethio­pia, important deals take a long, long time. After all, if a deal is important, it should be given much careful thought, shouldn't it?

The Japanese, knowing that North Americans are impatient, use time to their advantage when negotiating with us. One of them expressed it this way:

"You Americans have one terrible weakness. If we make you wait long enough, you will agree to anything."