Reference #444: Organizational Culture and Leadership
Cultures view time on a spectrum from monochronic to polychronic. Most managers in the U.S. have a monochronic view of time. Time is viewed as an infinitely divisible linear ribbon that can be divided into compartments. Within each compartment of time, only one activity can be performed. Time is viewed as a valuable commodity.
Some cultures in Southern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East view time as primarily polychronic. Here, time is a medium defined by what is accomplished rather than by a clock. Several things can be done simultaneously. This polychronic orientation can be seen in societies where clerks deal with multiple people at once, rather than having people line up and dealing with them one at a time.
Schein. Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2017. (90-91)