These Are Samples of Cultural Divide between Western and Thai Values on “TIME”
Meet Evan…
Evan is, by almost every Western standard, a successful businessman. He is a creature of habit. You might say his watch determines his every move – as well as his mental state – as he navigates the priorities his work presents.
Here’s a typical day:
5:30 a.m. Evan wakes up, puts on his exercise gear, and goes for his daily two-mile run
6:00 a.m. He gets home, pours himself a glass of juice to help him cool down, and puts the coffee on to brew while he shaves, showers, and dresses for the day.
6:30 a.m. He whips up some breakfast, turns on CNN for the news, and scans the paper while he eats.
7:10 a.m. Evan gets in the car, turns on the radio for the traffic report, and heads for the office – frequently checking his watch and making bets with himself about whether the traffic will interfere with his typical 7:50 arrival.
8:00 a.m. He boots up the computer, checks his email, and spends the first half hour of his day checking his schedule, organizing the files he will need, and jotting a “to do” list to accomplish by the end of the day.
9:00 a.m. Since it’s Monday, there’s a staff meeting, that he’s scheduled to last precisely 45 minutes, to give himself time to get to his 10:00 meeting with the Director.
11:30 a.m. Evan is on the road hoping to make his 12:00 lunch appointment with a prominent supplier with time to spare – after all, his afternoon is packed with two more supplier meetings, and if he can arrive early, he’ll be able to save time and better predict on- time starts for his other two meetings.
6:00 p.m. He was in luck today, and feels good about his productivity. Evan spends 30 minutes crossing things off his “to do” list, reviewing his email, and giving silent thanks for his exceptional secretary for skillfully diverting anyone and anything that might have interfered with his day.
6:45 p.m. Evan’s out the door, and headed home – again, listening to the traffic reports on the radio to make sure he takes the most efficient way home so he can arrive in time for the 7:30 p.m. news program he watches every night.
10:45 p.m. It’s “lights out” for this busy, responsible, self-controlled and productive guy. Evan wouldn’t last a week doing business in Bangkok!
Meet Dao…
Dao is, by Thai standards, a very successful businesswoman. She recognizes her success lies in navigating through and maintaining the many complex relationships her business involves, and she sets her priorities accordingly. You might even say the health of those relationships determines her every move – along with her mental state. So she knows her primary task is to strategically nurture those relationships that will help her and her business the most.
Here’s a typical day:
5:30 a.m. Dao wakes up, puts on her exercise gear, and goes for her daily two-mile run with her colleague, Kim
6:20 a.m. She arrives home a few minutes later than usual, because Kim asked for her advice about an upcoming negotiation with one of their suppliers. She was happy to give it, as Kim had done her many kindnesses in the past and had been instrumental in more than one successful transaction in Dao’s business. She quickly downs a glass of juice to help her cool down, and puts the kettle on to heat while she showers, and dresses for the day.
6:45 a.m. She whips up some breakfast, and calls her mother for her daily chat while she eats.
7:30 a.m. Her chat with her mother took longer than usual, as there was a lot of gossip about the neighbors and their children – as well as some news about her brother-in-law and his new job with an influential company. Although Dao will be late for work, the chat with her mother was productive, and the news about her brother- in-law will be useful to Dao’s business. She gets in the car and heads for the office, knowing she will arrive in time to check her email and make sure everything is order for her staff.
8:15 a.m. She boots up the computer, checks her email, and receives visits from her staff members who come in one by one to greet her and ask for direction for the day.
9:00 a.m. Since it’s Monday, there’s a staff meeting that she thinks might last about an hour. She waits until all the staff is assembled, and then arrives at 9:15 – only to learn that the regional Director of her firm is expected for an unannounced visit in a few minutes. She quickly dismisses the meeting, and issues instructions for everybody to prepare for this important person.
11:30 a.m. Although she had promised to call one of her local clients at 10:00, she postpones the call to make sure everything was in order for the Director’s visit. She is delighted to order lunch, organize the seating, and spends a happy afternoon chatting with the Director.
6:00 p.m. She was in luck today, and feels good about her productivity. The Director stayed most of the day, and she showed him the progress of her team. She knows the appointments she had with three of her clients can happen tomorrow and that they will understand being displaced by someone as important as her Director. She spends a few minutes catching up on her emails and phone calls.
6:45 p.m. Dao’s out the door, and headed home – when her cell phone rings. Her most important client is on the phone suggesting they meet for a quick meeting over dinner. Dao declines, as she has invited her parents to her home this evening. The client understands, and they promise to meet some time tomorrow.
10:45 p.m. It’s “lights out” for this busy, responsible, happy and successful Thai woman. Evan’s and Dao’s stories above should demonstrate that you and your Thai partner will probably have completely opposite concepts of time – and understanding the difference between “on time” and “in time” will help you deal with the frustration that this may cause in both of you.
The goal is to help you understand that while you may be a stickler for being on time – to meetings, to work, to parties, to dinner – that doesn’t make you more “right” or more “responsible” in her eyes. At the same time, understanding and appreciating her more circular approach to time can help you avoid arguments and misunderstandings — maybe even help you relieve some of the tension or anxiety your differences can cause.
In general you, as a Westerner, think of time as a line. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. You place every person, every task, and every priority onto that line of time, constantly measuring your progress along it. You are always looking toward the future – and at your watch – to measure your progress along that “line” of time. You concentrate on “one thing at a time” and structure the spaces around you (like your office) to support the privacy and concentration you need to make things happen “in the right order.” You experience time as a constant, rigid, predictable thing. It’s almost sacred to you.
On the other hand, we Thais experience time as a constantly-shifting sphere that changes shape and holds everything at once. It has no beginning, no middle, and no end. Within the sphere of time, we pay the most attention to the people and relationships within that sphere that are most important to us. We are rooted in the past (remember our respect for our elders?), and we recognize that the cycle of life is always bringing us events in the present that can best be handled in traditional ways. We are also focused on the present, wanting to experience each moment – we don’t participate just because it might help us in the future, we participate because there’s some immediate pleasure to be found. Our important relationships are almost sacred to us.
We experience time as flexible, bending and flowing according to the relationships we have and how important they are in our lives now. We are more accommodating to the “now” of the present relationship than we are to any unpredictable future, no matter how bright it might seem.
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