Polychronicity refers to a culture in which time is an unimportant factor and deadlines are very flexible. Multi-tasking is a huge part of the polychronic culture.
In South Africa we fall into the monochronic category, which basically means that we like to organise events and meetings etc. around the clock. Timeframes are very important and we would rather sacrifice quality than miss meeting a deadline. Meetings generally start when they are scheduled to and conclude after the allotted time, and timeframes within the meeting are set and respected as well.
Monochronic cultures generally work hard on a single project and are not easily distracted, relate punctuality to reputation and tend to stick to plans once they have been agreed upon.
The four countries that belong to the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) group, however, all fall into the polychronic category, preferring to focus their attention on content instead of speed. It is common to see business men and women in polychronic cultures texting on their cellphones or writing during meetings, and they tend to work on several projects at any given time.
Polychronic cultures tend to be easily distracted, relate punctuality to relationship and often change or cancel plans with little warning. People in this category also generally commit to relationships and lean towards life-long friendships.
These contrasting views on how business should be conducted could soon become an issue in the workplace as an increased level trade occurs between SA and the BRIC countries, and while the Western (monochronic) way of thinking (at least with regard to deadlines and schedules) is becoming more commonplace in global business, there are still those who hold firm to their beliefs.
This is something that we as South African businesspeople need to be prepared to deal with as SA becomes a full member of the BRIC group of large emerging economies.