Polychronic Culture

Intercultural Communications Paper – The Arab Nations, a Polychronic Society
Ilse Davison COMM 212 73416

Everyone in the world runs off of a time system. The sun rises and the sun sets and we all go through a day. What we do in that time between morning and night and night and morning is what differs across cultures. The two most prominent time systems are monochronic and polychronic. What is monochronic and polychronic? In short, monochronic time orientation means to do one thing at a time, involving scheduling, planning, and “time management.” Polychronic time orientation means that a greater value is placed on relationships with people, than on following a schedule or getting things done (Suntsova 1-2). There are twenty-two Arab

These twenty-two Arab nations, all follow most aspects of a polychronic system. Some have begun to have more ‘westernization,’ but, in general, these countries stay the same and follow a collectivist society that care much more about the groups and relationships, than the individual and getting x-number of things done in x-amount of time. Though there are twenty-two separate Arab nations, they share a great many cultural similarities. One of the biggest similarities is their Islamic faith. Their faith drives their culture. Their daily lives are built upon their daily rituals, including praying five times per day, during which time, no businesses are open. Also, they celebrate Ramadan for an entire month out of the year, fasting during the day and only eating at night. Arab people are very relational and they are very much about the “we.” This all ties together in how their culture falls into a polychronic system. “Monochronic time cultures emphasize schedules, a precise reckoning of time, and promptness. Time is viewed as a discreet commodity. People with this cultural orientation tend to do one thing after another, finishing each activity before starting the next” (Suntsova 2). People in a monochronic society tend to feel that they are more organized and

In Arab countries and other polychronic countries, time moves with you; one is not conformed to the constraints of time. You are not fighting against time or for more time. An interesting fact I discovered in studying polychronic and monochronic systems is their similarities to other cultural aspects. Polychronic people are more collectivist oriented, more about the needs of the group. And they are also more of a high-context group; their communication does not involve a lot of conversation and is more involved in close personal relationships (Hall 166). There is not really a polychronic, individualist, low-context society. It seems these aspects are intertwined with a monochronic system. In a monochronic system, time is linear and is viewed more as a commodity to be purchased, budgeted, or saved. According to Hall, “monochronic time is an artifact of the industrial revolution in England; factory life required the labor force to be on hand and in place at an appointed hour,” which plays into the other contrasting aspect of monochronic and polychronic countries. According to the Anderson Institute, that the more industrialized and developed countries tend to be on a monochronic system, which is much more fast-paced; versus, the polychronic countries, “where less developed or developing countries tend to have slower paced lifestyles” (Anderson 2). According to Hall, “polychronic time is characterized by