Jose is a real estate developer in Argentina. His usual day consists of working in the morning, heading out to meet clients for lunch and to show properties. Then he goes home and naps in the late afternoon before going back to the office to finish up before supper. When John, an American developer, came to Argentina to meet with Jose, he was upset when Jose was always 15 to 20 minutes late for all appointments, and that sometimes during their meetings, Jose would be talking on the phone or dealing with other people at the same time. After John expressed his reservations about Jose's punctuality, Jose was taken aback because he simply did not understand John's obsession with timeliness. In this example, which cultural dimension is most relevant and which dimension does Jose represent?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The cultural dimension that is most relevant in this example is Time Orientation, and Jose represents Poly-chronic time. This is because John, as an American, comes from a culture with a mono-chronic time orientation, where punctuality and scheduling are highly valued. In contrast, Jose's culture of Argentina tends to have a more relaxed attitude towards time and often engage in multiple activities at once (poly-chronic time). Jose's behavior of being 15-20 minutes late and taking phone calls during meetings reflects this Poly-chronic time orientation.

Jose Is a Real Estate Developer in Argentina