Americans often experience much conflict and frustration because of differences in the concept of time around the world-that is, differences in temporal values. To Americans, time is a valuable and limited resource, to be saved, scheduled, and spent with precision, lest we waste it. The clock is always running; time is money. Therefore, deadlines and schedules have to be met. When others are not on time for meetings, Americans may feel insulted; when meetings digress from their purpose, Americans tend to become impatient. Similar attitudes toward time are found in Western Europe and elsewhere.
In many parts of the world, however, people view time from different and longer perspectives, often based on religious beliefs (such as reincarnation, in which time does not end at death), on a belief in destiny, or on pervasive social attitudes. In Latin America, for example, a common attitude toward time is ma a word that literally means tomorrow; a Latin American person using this word, however, usually means an indefinite time in the near future. Similarly, the word bukra in Arabic can mean tomorrow or some time in the future. While Americans usually regard a deadline as a firm commitment, Arabs often regard a deadline imposed on them as an insult. They feel that important things take a long time and therefore cannot be rushed; to ask an Arab to rush something, then, would imply that you have not given him an important task, or that he would not treat that task with respect. International managers have to be careful not to offend people-or lose contracts or employee cooperation-because they misunderstand the local language of time.
Time : Effects of Organizations article from Culture Management Catagory Time
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