5/20/20; Week 5: Response to "Cultural Differences Concern Time" Video

I found the concepts of monochronic vs. polychronic cultures interesting. From what I could glean from the video, it sounds like monochronic cultures value schedules and procedures. Specific appointment times matter. Procedures are less flexible. In polychronic cultures, human relationships are more important than schedules and procedures. Family and close friends are given first priority in people’s lives. Networking is key to accomplishing things in polychronic cultures.

These are such fundamental differences, it’s a wonder to me that people from highly monochronic cultures and people from highly polychronic cultures manage to interact productively and successfully in business and life. I am from the U.S., which is a monochronic culture. I served a mission in Italy, where I spent most of my time teaching African immigrants (mostly from Nigeria or Ghana, but many from various other African countries as well) who came from a polychronic culture. And that made our interactions difficult. Setting appointments with African investigators was always a gamble because there was no way to be sure they would be there when we showed up. Getting them to show up to church on time was a constant struggle. At times, it could be frustrating (at least to us from the monochronic culture – those from a polychronic culture didn’t seem to care as much).

I wish I had known these things about monochronic and polychronic cultures then; I think it could have helped us deal more effectively with our polychronic investigators. However, I do think it will help me deal more effectively with potential future students from polychronic cultures. Understanding what my students value and prioritize will help me interpret their actions and motivations more accurately. It will also help me help them adapt to the monochronic culture in the U.S. (where I plan to teach). Without this knowledge, I would probably find some of my students’ behavior baffling, and have no clue how to even begin to address it, but with this knowledge, I can be more aware of how my students think, and I can see more clearly how that impacts their actions as well.