Replying to LO26225 --
Dear Dwig,
With regard to your reply to my and Terje's posts:
On 25 Feb 2001 21:20:42 -0800 Don Dwiggins <d.l.dwiggins@computer.org>
writes:
> Terje, Sajeela, many thanks for watering my seeds; perhaps we'll see
> something grow to feed the soul...
I am so glad you appreciate a perhaps growing tapestry of conversation ---
( and might I interject a question for Andrew beloved --- are the threads
moving toward purple here perhaps? I see potential hues of purple
interwoven with bits of mellow yellows and even some specks of chartruse
pink --- what thinkest thou beloved artistic kindred soul? )
(snip)
>I see two themes here: a different view of time, and a different view
>of the relation of individual to collective. In particular, I'd
>definitely like to >hear more about the Arab "poly-temporal orientation",
>because it seems >crucial to me for a LO to have a rich picture of time.
The term "poly-temporal" is my take from Ed Hall and Trompenaars/Turner's
works --- they actually use the term "polychronic" (as in chronemic, or
time/temporal) --- and the concept of such is used in Intercultural
Communication training to talk about cultural differences in orientation
to time. Perhaps the best thing is to share qualities from each
orientation:
Monochronic cultures:
1) High commitment to completing one task at a time
2) Continual interruptions found frustrating; concerned with not
disturbing others; follow the rules of privacy; concentrate on discrete
task at hand
3) Accustomed to short-term relationships
4) Plans, deadlines and schedules taken very seriously
Polychronic cultures:
1) Emphasis on simultaneous completion of tasks
2) frequent interruptions are OK, attending to important relationships
and other tasks all at the same time are normal, tasks are completed
based on the strength of the relationship rather then on pre-drawn plans
3) strong tendency to build life-long relations
4) Change plans often and easily
Having seen these now Dwig, please say more about how this impacts your
work with organizations and this passage from your post:
>(Oddly enough, while we seem to be in an abstract, speculative place, I
>find these two themes constantly staring at me when looking at
>individual or organizational dysfunctions.
And Terje, please say what you think about these different orientations
and which seems more like Arab culture to you and perhaps why.
Here's to the wisdom of learning together,
Sajeela
__________________________________
Sajeela Moskowitz Ramsey
OD Specialist/Culture Generalist
2432 Villanova Drive/Vienna, VA. 22180
703 573 7050/ SajeelaCore @Juno.com
--Sajeela M ramsey <sajeelacore@juno.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <Richard@Karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
"Learning-org" and the format of our message identifiers (LO1234, etc.) are trademarks of Richard Karash.