Time-Conscious Americans

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Unit One
Time-Conscious Americans
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GENERAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE AND AMERICAN
CULTURES
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Conception Of the Self

• Chinese (Collectivist) Higher value placed on
  group cooperation and individual modesty.

• American (Individualist) Higher value placed on
  self-reliance.  Self-promotion is more accepted.
  High value placed on "freedom" from externally
  imposed constraints.

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Social Relationships

• Chinese Formal, hierarchical(????). People most
  comfortable in the presence of a hierarchy in
  which they know their position and the
  customs/rules for behavior in the situation.

• American Informal, egalitarian(?????). People
  most comfortable with their social equals
  importance of social rankings minimized.

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Friendship

• Chinese Small number of close, lifelong friends
  who feel deeply obligated to give each other
  whatever form of help might seem required.

• AmericanLarge collection of "friends" and
  acquaintances which changes over time and
  involves only limited mutual obligations.

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Obligation

• ChineseRelationships with other people involve
  reciprocal(???)obligations.

• AmericanPeople avoid interdependent
  relationships and situations that might entail
  long-term obligations.

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Task vs. Relationship Orientation

• Chinese Relationship-oriented.  Maintaining a
  harmonious relationship has priority over
  accomplishing tasks.

• American Task-oriented.  Relationships are less
  important than getting the work done.

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Harmony vs. "Truth"

• Chinese Avoid direct confrontation, open
  criticism, and controversial topics.  Concern
  maintaining harmony and with "face."

• AmericanWilling to confront directly,
  criticize, discuss controversial topics, press
  personal opinions about what they consider "the
  truth.  Little concern with "face."

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Role of laws, rules, and regulations

• ChineseMore faith in personal relationships
  than in written rules and procedures for
  structuring interactions.

• AmericanWritten rules presumably apply to
  everyone and are assumed to produce fair,
  reasonable procedures and decisions.

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Time Consciousness

• ChineseRelatively more attention to the past
  (nostalgic) and to the longer-term future.

• AmericanLess interested in the past eye on
  near-term future.

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The concept of time
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Two different "management styles" of time

• Time can be thought of as a straight line or as a
  circle the linear, sequential march of days and
  years, or the rotation of the seasons.
• Our cultural orientation has a profound effect on
  our daily lives and business functions.

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Two different "management styles" of time

• Monochronic/Polychronic Time
• ?????/?????
• introduced by American anthropologist
  Edward Hall

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Monochronic/Polychronic Time

• Monochronic time is one-track linear people do
  one thing at a time.Polychronic time is
  multi-track circular it allows many things to
  happen simultaneously, with no particular end in
  sight.
• Monochronic time is tightly compartmentalized
  (??) schedules are almost sacred. Polychronic
  time is open-ended completing the task or
  communication is more important than adhering to
  a schedule.

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Common Time Differences
Monochronic People Polychronic People
Do one thing at a time Do many things at once
Concentrate on the job Highly distractible and subject to interruptions
Take time commitments seriously (deadlines, schedules) Consider time commitments an objective to be achieved only if possible
Committed to the job Committed to people
Adhere religiously to plans Change plans often and easily
Concerned about not disturbing others Follow rules of privacy and consideration More concerned with relations (family, friends, close business associates) than with privacy
Show great respect for private property, seldom borrow or lend Borrow and lend things often and easily
Emphasize promptness Base promptness on the relationship
Accustomed to short-term relationships Strong tendency to build lifetime relationships
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Question to ponder on

• What do you think of Chinese people, Monochronic
  or Polychronic?
• Can you make some examples ?

Polychronic Chinese
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Polychronic Chinese

• Before doing something, Chinese will trace back
  to the old experience trying to get some
  successful tips.
• Chinese have high respect for old, emphasizing
  age and experience.
• ????????????????????????????????????????????????
  ,?????????,????? ?????,?????????????????????????,?
  ????

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Polychronic Chinese

• Appointment are not taken very seriously and they
  in fact are often broken.
• people may do multiple tasks at the same time
  instead of doing "sequentially," (finish one task
  before moving on to the next. )

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Another question to ponder on

• What do you know about American in treating time?
  Monochronic or Polychronic?
• Can you make some examples ?

Monochronic American
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Monochronic American

• Westerner cultures tend to conceptualize time in
  lineal-spatial terms. Time is something to be
  manipulated, saved, wasted, made up, spent,
  measured.
• Americans are usually very time-conscious,
  treating time as a material thing that should be
  used to the best advantage.
• They tend to execute tasks in a sequential
  manner they will not move on to another job
  unless they complete what they have on their
  desk.

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Monochronic American

• Old in English is associated with lack of
  energy, creativity, challenge, useless, burden
  .Some English sayings concerning old
• An old dog will learn no new tricks./ You cant
  teach an old dog new tricks.(????????)
• It is hard to make an old dog stoop.(????,????)
• elderly or senior citizen(people over
  60),golden ager (retired people over 65)

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Some sayings expressions showing the
monochronic concept

• Time is money.
• Do not attend to two things at a time.
• Punctuality is the politeness of princes.
• Punctuality is the soul of business.
• Time works wonders.
• Time works great changes.
• Times change.

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• place/put on the agenda (??????)
• agree (up)on an agenda (???????????)
• lay out/map out/make out/plan a schedule
• have a full schedule (???????)
• maintain a schedule (???????)
• accomplish sth. according to schedule
  (????????????)
• on/to schedule (??????)
• schedule time (?????)
• a tight schedule (????????)
• at the scheduled time (??)
• according to schedule (????)
• ahead of schedule (??)
• behind schedule (???????)

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????? in English

• punctual, on schedule, on time,
• on/to the minute, on the hour,
• at the appointed time, timely,
• at the stated time, in good time, well-timed,
  in time

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time-saving devices

• TV dinner(????)?instant
  coffee(????)?frozen food(????)?packaged
  food(????)?preserved food (???????)? bread
  mix(?????)?cake mix(?????)?soup mix(??)?
  con-venience food(????)?fast food
  restaurant(???)?hamburger(???)?hot dog(??)?pizza
  (???????)? fired chicken(??)?tacos(???????)?potato
  chips(????)?cheeseburger(????????)?fishburger(???
  ?)?French fries(??????)?drive-in
  banking(??????????)

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Chinese vs American

• All in all, Americans value time as something
  irrecoverable while Chinese treat time as
  something enjoyable.
• In history, Americans were well-known for their
  inventions like telephone, airplane, fax and
  other time-saving devices whereas Chinese were
  famous for their time-consuming practices such as
  enjoying fireworks, playing mah-jong, and tasting
  delicious food in leisurely manners.
• Besides, to the American businessmen, time
  signifies money. They seize every golden minute
  to make money. By contrast, to the Chinese
  businessmen, time means an interpersonal network.
  They seize every occasion to get it into shape.

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Discussion appropriate time-treatment

• 1. Which time management style do you prefer,
  Monochronic or Polychronic Time? Why?
• 2. What behaviors are considered to be a waste of
  time?
• 3. As college students, how should we spend time
  to make it meaningful?

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Passage Analysis
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Americans value time and save time carefully. In
their eyes, time is regarded as precious
resource. A person who tends to waste his own
time or that of others is never accepted in
American culture. Consequently, Americans try
every means to save time in their daily life,
business and work so as to make every minute
count. Besides, to solve a problem or fulfill a
job with speed in U.S.A is taken as a sign of
skillfulness or being competent.
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Back
General idea of the whole passage (Paras. 1-2)
By making contrast between Americans viewpoint
on time and that of those from other cultures,
the author emphasizes the main idea In American
culture, it is taken as a sign of skillfulness or
being competent to solve a problem or fulfill a
job with speed.
Americans work hard at the task of saving time.
They save time not only in their daily life,
business but also in their work. This is
illustrated by the foreigners first impression
of the U.S.. Besides, Americans create a series
of devices to save time.
The author comes straight to the point Americans
attitudes towards time Americans value time and
save time carefully. Time is regarded as precious
resources.
Illustrations of the general idea (Paras. 3-7)
Restatement and emphasis of the general idea
(Paras. 8)
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Back
Main idea?
Part I (Paras. 1-2)
Americans value time and save time carefully.
Time is regarded as precious resources.
Part II
Devices for developing it?
Coming straight to the point (????)
Part III
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Back
The author comes straight to the point at the
beginning Para. 1 Americans believe no one
stand still, and time is one of the two elements
that Americans save carefully. Para. 2 Americans
regard time as precious resource and they want
every minute to be important.
??
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Back
Main idea?
Part I
Americans try every means to save time. They save
time in their daily life , business and work as
well. They also create a series of devices to
improve efficiency.
Part II (Paras. 3-7)
Devices for developing it?
Part III
Deduction (???)
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Back
General idea Americans are time-conscious and
they want every minute to count.
Specific aspects 1. Americans save time in their
daily life. They are always in a rush and under
pressure. (Para. 3) 2. Americans save time in
their business talk.(Para. 4) 3. Americans work
hard at the task of saving time by producing
laborsaving devices. (Paras. 5-7)
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Back
Typical example of paragraph development by
deduction (Para. 3)
General statement Every one is in a rush often
under pressure.
Specific details 1. City people always appear
to be hurrying to get where they are going, 2.
Working time is considered precious. 3. Drivers
are abrupt and people will push past you.
The reasons People value time highly and they
resent someone else wasting it beyond a certain
appropriate point.
??
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Back
Main idea?
Part I
While new arrivals to the U.S. regard time
differently, Americans do take it as a sign of
skillfulness or being competent to solve a
problem or fulfill a job with speed.
Part II
Devices for developing it?
Part III (Para. 8)
Contrast (???)
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Contrast (???)
Back
The new arrivals attitudes towards time 1. It
is considered impolite to work too quickly. 2.
The importance of an assignment is given by the
passage of time. Americans attitudes towards
time 1. It is taken as a sign of skillfulness
or being competent to solve a problem or fulfill
a job with speed. 2. More time and energy is
generally poured into a more important task.
??
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After-reading check on Text A

• What is a foreigners first impression of the US?
• What will many new arrivals to the States miss?
• What labor-saving devices do Americans use?
• How do Americans conduct business?
• Why is the US definitely a telephone country?
• Whats the Americans attitude to speed?

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Language points (reference only)
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• stand v. keep or stay in a particular position
  or state
• The room stands idle. ?????
• They stood ready to move at short notice.
  ??????, ????????Stand firm -- don't let them tell
  you what to do. ???, ????????????They stand
  opposed to the new law. ??????????

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• still av. not moving, motionless, calm,
  quietKeep still while I do up your shoe.
  ????,???????The sea was calm and still.
  ???????Still waters run deep. (?)????,?????The
  food stilled the baby's cries. ?????????

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• fall behind
• 1) become bit by bit further behind  fall behind
  in science ???????fall behind one's competitors
  ???????The student has been working hard for
  fear that he should fall behind. ?????????,
  ?????2) (with) fail to produce sth. at the
  proper timefall behind with the rent ????I'm
  falling behind with my work I must try to catch
  up. ???????, ????????

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• result in have as a result cause Acting before
  thinking always results in failing.
  ?????????????The accident resulted in the death
  of two people ?????????????Compare result from
  be caused byNothing has resulted from his
  efforts. ?????????The child's illness resulted
  from eating unclean food. ??????????????????

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• Time is one of the two elements that Americans
  save carefully, the other being labor. (Para. 1)
• subject -ing (or -ed) verb structure
• No further discussions arising, the meeting was
  brought to an end. ?????????, ????????Lunch
  finished, all the guests returned to the sitting
  room. ????, ????????????This type of clause can
  be rewritten by adding the preposition
  "with"Time is one of the two elements that
  American save carefully, with the other being
  labor.With lunch finished, all the guests
  returned to the sitting room.

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• slave to sth. a person who is completely
  influenced or dominated by sth. a slave to drink
  ??a slave to money ?????nothing but only He's
  nothing but a criminal. ?????????The report
  contains nothing but lies. ??????????

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• budget v. plan the spending of (time, money,
  etc.), or provide (time, money) in the plan She
  has made so many commitments that she has to
  budget her time very carefully.
  ?????????,???????????????She budgeted for buying
  a new car. ???????????????n. a plan of how to
  spend money, etc. during a particular time for a
  particular purpose. a family / week's budget ??
  / ????the company's advertising budget
  ???????It is important to balance this year's
  budget. ???????????????

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• kill time make time pass quickly by finding sth.
  to doWe killed time by playing cards.
  ????????????He drove to the club to kill a
  couple of hours. ???????????????

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• account for 1) give a satisfactory explanation
  about (how sth. is used)Jenny had to account to
  her husband for every penny she spent.
  ?????????????????????2) be the cause or origin
  of North Sea oil accounts for a high proportion
  (??) of our trade earnings. ??????????????????

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• charge for ask (an amount of money) as a
  priceHow much do you charge for washing a car?
  ????????????We charge 200 dollars for a single
  room one night. ???????200??

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• Once the sands have run out of a person's
  hourglass, they cannot be replaced. (Para.2)
• hourglass n. a glass container holding fine sand
  for measuring time, which is narrow in the middle
  like a figure 8 so that the sand inside can run
  slowly from the top half to the bottom taking
  exactly one hour
• Meaning The whole sentence is a metaphor, which
  means Once time has passed, it will not return.

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• run out of 1) (of liquid or sth. like liquid)
  flow out of Many rivers run out of the
  Himalayas. ?????????????? 2) use all one's
  supplies, have no moreI'm afraid we've run out
  of gas. ???????????I'm running out of patience.
  ??????

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• count vi. If sth. counts, it is important or
  valuable.Every second counts. ?????????She's
  the only person that really counts around here.
  ??????????????

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• in a rush in a hurryWhy is she always in such a
  rush? ??????????????under pressure in a
  condition of being forced or hurriedHe works
  best under pressure. ???????????????

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• elbow vt. push others out of the way using
  elbowsI tried to stop him, but he elbowed me out
  of the way. ??????,???????????She elbowed her
  way through the crowd. ??????????

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• race through do sth. in a hurryThe government
  raced the new law through all its stages so as to
  complete it before the election.
  ????????????????????,???????????The child raced
  through his homework in order to watch the
  football match on TV. ?????????????????????

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• abrupt a. 1) (of behavior) roughan abrupt
  attitude ?????When I asked her about her new
  job, she was quite abrupt with me. ??????????,
  ??????????2) sudden and unexpectedThe meeting
  came to an abrupt end. ???????an abrupt change
  of policy ??????an abrupt drop in oil prices ????

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• take ... personally If you take someone's
  remarks personally, you are upset because you
  think that they are being critical about you in
  particular. You mustn't take her negative
  comments of your plan personally.
  ???????????????????????

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• opening a. first or beginning (one),
  startingThey returned to take part in the
  season's opening game. ????????????????the
  opening night of a new play ????????the opening
  words ???

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• interaction n. 1) communicationinformal
  interactions among adults ??????????
  human-computer interaction ????, ???? 2) acting
  on each other working together Increased
  interaction between the police and citizens will
  improve the rate of solving crimes.
  ??????????????????

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• go with exist or take place at the same time, be
  found together Happiness does not go as an
  automatic result with money. ?????????Responsibil
  ity goes with becoming a father. ????????????

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• assess vt. judge the quality, importance, or
  worth ofHe's so lazy that it's difficult to
  assess his ability. ????,????????????It's too
  early to assess the effects of the new law.
  ?????????????????

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• tick vi. (of a clock, etc.) make a sequence of
  quiet short regularly repeated soundsMy watch
  doesn't tick because it is electronic. ?????????,
  ????????While we waited the taxi's meter kept
  ticking away. ??????, ???????????????????

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• labor-saving a. designed to reduce the amount
  of work or effort needed to do sth.???,?????,????
  ?Women like the washing machine as it is
  labor-saving. ?? ??????,?????????A personal
  computer can be very labor-saving. ????????????

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• save ... for keep sth. for future use, not use
  up sth.Save your strength for hard work you'll
  have to do later. ???????????????????Can you
  save your story for later? ?????????????????

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• significance n. meaning, importanceWhat is the
  significance of this speech? ??????????The
  significance for college students of doing a
  part-time job is more than money and experience.
  ??????????????????At that time few people
  realized the significance of his discovery.
  ??????????????????

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• at hand under discussion or being considered
  near in time or place. Her question was not
  related to the matter at hand. ????????????????Th
  e great day is at hand.?????????Having the right
  equipment at hand will be very helpful.???????????
  ????

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• conduct vt. 1) organize and carry outI decided
  to conduct an experiment. ?????????A team from
  the United Nations will observe the election to
  be sure that it is fairly conducted.
  ???????????????,??????????2) act as the path for
  (electricity, heat, etc.)Plastic and rubber
  won't conduct electricity, but copper will.
  ????????, ??????

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• in person physically present, by oneself I
  can't attend the meeting in person, but I'm
  sending someone to speak for me.
  ?????????,???????????Will you apply for the
  position by letter or in person?
  ????????????????? The winner will be there in
  person to collect the prize. ????????????

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• settle vt. solve We can also say settle an
  argument????settle the case??settle a bill ??
  settle an account ??

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• whereas conj. but, in contrast, whileWe thought
  she did not like us, whereas in fact she was very
  shy. ??????????,????????????They want a house,
  whereas we would rather live in a flat. ????????,
  ??????????????Their country has plenty of oil,
  while (or whereas) ours has none. ????????,
  ????????????

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• in one's eyes in the opinion or judgment of
  someoneIn the eyes of the critical
  professionals, he can do no wrong.
  ??????,???????The expert is always right in the
  eyes of everybody. ???????,???????

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• worthy of meritingHe is worthy of our praise.
  ????????worthy of help ?????acts worthy of
  punishment ?????????

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• weight n. U importanceDon't worry about what
  he thinks, his opinion doesn't carry much weight.
  ???????,???????????an idea of great weight
  ??????

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• competent a. (of people) having the necessary
  ability, skill, knowledge, etc.He is competent
  for the task. ?????????If you want to learn
  English, you must first find a competent teacher.
  ???????, ????????????

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• fulfill vt. 1) do or performThey fulfilled
  their work ahead of time as we did ours. ?????,
  ???????????fulfill a duty ????2) supply or
  satisfy (a need, demand or requirement)The
  company should be able to fulfill our
  requirements for product quality.
  ????????????????????

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• get sth. /sb. doing (sth.) make sth. /sb. do
  sth. Can you get the old car going again?
  ??????????????It's not hard to get the boy
  talking the problem is stopping him.
  ???????????????????