Lesson 1: Perception of time
Recommended size of the group: Split in group of six.
Aim of lesson: Time and its role regarding people from different countries
Objective: With the use of R.A.D.A.R technique, learners will be able to understand the meaning of time by showing tolerance to others behaviour.
Resources: Small presentation for the meaning of time to different cultures -explanation of monochronic and polychronic definition, usage of R.A.D.A.R technique -. Printout information of the case. Internet connection for video.
Teaching method to be used in the lesson: RADAR method
Content
You work in an international project about Cultural Tolerance. You are from the U.S.A and your partners are from France, Middle East, Africa, the U.K. and Japan.
You have the first meeting. Some of them come on time, some with a 10 minutes delay and some others with more than 10 minutes delay.
You decide the format and put in place the schedule of the dates, in order for everyone to respect deadlines.
Unfortunately, some of your partners explain that they cannot keep the deadline, because of several technical issues they face. Some others say that it’s ok and it is not a big deal to delay the project for a few days, while some others refuse to work on boxing days in order to finish it.
You also notice that during the meetings some of your partners answer to their phones and talk to others
You feel frustrated, you think that these people are unreliable and that it is impolite to talk on the phone
Do the following exercise:
Ask participants to cover their watches. Then tell them to close their eyes and be quiet. Ask them to stand up with closed eyes and stay like that for 60 seconds. When they believe that the 60 seconds passed, tell them to sit down and open their eyes.
At the same time the instructor counts the real time.
You can see that each of them perceives time differently.
After that explain them the theory.
Evaluation of the lesson
Based on the description of monochronic and polychronic cultures, please use the R.A.D.A.R technique and evaluate the situation by:
- Recognizing the cultural dimensions.
- Analysing the diversity and understand the reasons that cause this situation.
- Deciding the reasons that underline differences instead of similarities.
- Acting based on the best opinion that we have after examining the situation.
- Reviewing what happened at the end and adapt the future behaviour and action by examining also your feelings.