The Hindu Business Line : Understanding what time means

Culture specialists like to point out that traditional societies like India have a cyclical approach to time and Western societies a linear one. For corporates schooled in American ways, time is money, but for most of us Indians time is perceived as an abundant commodity, as abundant as the sunlight in India.

Indians are generally ‘time complacent’ for we have much sunlight, which has regulated our waking and working hours. Movements in nature have also influenced our attitude to time: night and day, the waning and waxing of the moon, the ebb and flow of water, birth, death and rebirth — all cyclical. Nature never ran out of itself and has been perceived as plentiful. And so too with time: It could be stretched when required.

The perception of time as stretchable is tenacious and inhabits our daily vocabulary. Rajiv, Vinay and Ajay are young IT professionals who have decided to go together to see Chak De India, the film starring Shah Rukh Khan. Rajiv has offered to pick up the other two at Vinay’s place. He says: “I’ll be picking you up at about 5pm.” The ‘about’ leaves room for manoeuvring. Vinay and Ajay would be glad if Rajiv showed up by 5.15 pm. They could still make it to the film. We in India frequently use the present continuous when we converse and when we write. It is common to hear: “I’m having a headache,” “I’m having guests at home” and even “I’m having a wife”. Time is not fragmented.

Gita is working on a project report that needs to be sent to Hans, her counterpart in Germany, as early as possible. She is confident of completing it and informs Hans that she will be sending it across “by the week-end”. Hans is not reassured. He says: “I need you to send me the project report this Friday by 4pm, please. Can you do that?”

Time Conscious

Western countries are more ‘time conscious’ than ‘time complacent’ for they have a lot less of that precious commodity called sunlight. Clocks are brought forward and then set back in spring and autumn to make the most of the daylight hours for work. Long winters and falling leaves; a dormant nature in winter is depressing for many for it symbolises the passage of time, decay and loss. This perception has reinforced the Western view of time as fleeting and the need, therefore, to pin it down and appropriate it. How is this done?

Time in the West is linear; it has a start and a finish. It is to be apportioned, used carefully, controlled and accounted for. It is commonly believed that what gets measured gets done. At the workplace this translates into time-bound processes, plans, agendas and deadlines to be followed as closely as possible. Abiding by these implies being professional, even respectful of each other. Businesses are encouraged to be task-focused and do a lot less multitasking than we do in India.

The Taste of Time

Octavio Paz, Mexican diplomat and writer, made a very valuable contribution to cross-cultural understanding in his book In Light of India. He draws an analogy between perceptions of time and practices relating to food and eating habits in Eastern cultures like India and European cultures. He says the three, four or five course Western meal denotes a linear approach to time, with one dish at a time following the other in a clear sequence; different flavours traditionally do not intermingle. The sweet is distinct from the sour. Not so in Eastern cooking.

The circular Indian thali plate and meal epitomises cyclical time. It is served ‘in its entirety’ with all flavours in a happy mélange, the free intermingling of flavours a negation as it were of sequential time. Paz refers to this as the “timelessness of the thali”.

Becoming time efficient

Given this divergent view of time, how can we in India work effectively with our western counterparts? This is a Global Adjustments checklist we share with our course participants:

Follow schedules and plans as closely as possible and respect deadlines. Inform in advance if any modifications are introduced or delays expected.

Ensure you stay focused on the task at meetings and avoid interruptions.

Respond promptly to your telephone calls and e-mails or when information is required, even if it is to ask for more time.

Be punctual and do not make people wait — start earlier to achieve this.

Don’t expect to develop relationships, for this takes time. Be more task-oriented.

The importance of time in the West has thrown up a lot of rich expressions and proverbs that say it all. The American “time is money”, the very British “a stitch in time saves nine”, the poetic “time and tide wait for no man” or the succinct “buying time” all denote one thing — time is precious, don’t waste it.

(The writer is Senior Manager, Cross Cultural Services of Global Adjustments, a company that offers integrated India destination services and cross-cultural education delivered through the portal www.globalindian.com)