DILEMMAS ARISING BECAUSE OF DIFFERENT MEANINGS GIVEN TO TIME

People need to coordinate their business activities and so they require some kind of shared expectations about time. In the same way that different cultures have different assumptions about how people relate to the world, they also approach time differently. These dilemmas are about the relative meaning and thereby the importance that cultures give to a number of apects of time. These include how they give meanings to the long versus short term and the past, present, and future. How we think of time has its consequences. Especially important is whether our view of time is sequential - a series of passing events succeeding each other - or whether it is synchronic, with past, present, and future all interrelated. In the synchronic view ideas about the future and memories of the past both shape present action. Are you driven by the clock, arriving at the office at 9.00 a.m. because that is the start of the working day, or do you arrive in sufficient time for the first significant event, the first meeting?

When we look at how people organize time across cultures we can see a wide variety of differences. Graphically the two differences can best be explained as shown in Figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4: Time orientation - sequential/synchronic

Do we view time as sequential or synchronic? Is it based on short-term or long-term interests? And, finally, do we predominantly focus on the future, the present, or the past? These are three basic elements of time that are seen differently through different cultural lenses.

With sequential cultures, time is an objective measure of passing increments . The faster you can act and get to the market, the more effective will be your competitiveness . In contrast, synchronous cultures like doing things "just in time," so that present ideas converge on the future. The more synchronous your timing, the more competitive you will be.

In THT's research we have found evidence that cultures have quite different time horizons. On the one hand we know cultures that run from quarter to quarter. Here you can see salespeople dating their sales with the next week's date - because they have already achieved their sales targets for the current period and so this sale can be counted towards the next period's target. Others seem to plan a lot further ahead. They are very effective in reaching far-end goals at the cost of short-term flexibility. Rapaille (2001) has termed the first, short-term, approach "animal time" and the second one "founding time." The American code for time, for example, is an animal one that emphasizes short-termism and the immediate present: just do it, instant gratification, shareholder value, "greed," and the like. Mainland China's approach to possible reunification with the Republic of China (Taiwan) is long-term, over several future generations.

Short-Termism

Short-termism is the expression used to describe the pressure by money markets for profits now, in the short term. Every corporation has to balance the harvesting of profits for present use with the need to reinvest earnings back into the business for the long term. Wall Street puts a lot of emphasis on the short term and on ROI (Return on Investment). Equity capital is generally more short term than debt capital. America uses relatively more equity capital while cultures like Germany, Japan, Korea, and Singapore use relatively more debt capital. American financial analysts try to reduce long-term propositions to the short term.

Birth, Growth, and Maturity of Products

American managers tend to see products as going through the same life cycle as people. Hence products are born, go through a phase of rapid growth, then mature, and finally die.

Mature products, like ripe corn, should be harvested before they die. Such products are sometimes called "cash cows." They should be milked for everything they are worth before they near the end of their useful life. What is missing from the metaphor is the reproductive cycle. Products of almost any age can generate new products if they are well cared for. As we saw earlier in this chapter, when we looked at marketing Irishness, Products A and B can "give birth" to Product C. This reproductive metaphor is less common in the US because it requires a synchronous approach to time, and Americans are sequential in their approach. American managers are quick to plan for the death of Product A because it makes room for Product B. This is what is referred to as planned obsolescence.

Time to Market

The "time to market" is the period of time taken from the start of the development of a product until it is offered to customers in the marketplace . A variation is "time to break even," or how long it takes to earn enough money to cover expenses. Generally speaking, American managers seek to make this time lapse shorter and shorter. A window of opportunity can close in your face if you are as much as a few weeks late. Even if you are punctual, a competitor may get there faster. For customized goods, the interval between a customer specifying what is wanted and delivery of that product must be as short as possible.

In sequential cultures, most attempts to decrease time to market, or time to break even are based on pushing people and events to move faster. This is the consequence of thinking sequentially. Push equals linear acceleration, going faster. The problem with push strategies is that there is only so much energy available. When A is pushed, B and C become neglected and, moreover, too many different projects all pushed individually end in gridlock.

Pull strategies are popular in Japan. The Japanese start by "thinking backwards " from a future rendezvous with the customer to the pattern of current activities needed to make that rendezvous happen. All the necessary resources are pulled towards that rendezvous so as to synchronize at the customer's site, precisely when needed, or "just in time." Note that these do not arrive too early or too late. If the customer gets behind schedule the rendezvous is rescheduled with extra time used for quality improvements or for another customer. If the supplier gets behind schedule resources are added so that the promised rendezvous is kept. Those who use pull strategies tend to put their focus on long-term effectiveness.

Fast and Slow

Because of the monetary value placed on time in the US, companies that have a product that will save people time usually emphasize this feature. One example was a television commercial for Macintosh computers. A snail appears, slowly crawling across the screen. On top of its shell is a Pentium chip. The voiceover narrates a few simple sentences about how slow the Pentium chip is compared to the latest Macintosh chip. Time is considered so valuable in the US that anything that will save people time generally sells. Consequently this is often a feature exploited in advertising.

Life in Taipei is fast paced. Therefore people really enjoy the new communication media; advanced information technology is readily available. Consumers can be reached relatively easily via the Internet, and e-commerce has had a rapid start. The Taiwanese tend to accept new developments in marketing rapidly . The convenience store concept was accepted within a very short time and there was also a very rapid acceptance of supermarkets. In three years supermarkets went from serving 5 percent of the population to serving 50 percent.

In addition, the Taiwanese sometimes seem to work hard mainly to be able to buy the newest things and the latest model of anything and everything. Many worry about these signs of materialism. Possessing newer and better things seems to have become the main goal in life and, these days, progress is synonymous with earning money. The big question associated with the introduction of the two-day weekend in Taiwan is whether the longer weekend will not merely generate more commercial opportunities for the leisure industry.

When Relationships are More Important Than Speed

Customer service is an important marketing strategy in Ireland, but efficiency must not entail sacrificing the human relationship. Most Irish people would prefer to wait longer in a queue for friendly service than to be served more quickly but in an impersonal manner. Personal contact is very important for Irish consumers. For that reason doing business in banks and post offices, for example, is generally a pleasant experience in in Ireland in that one is greeted with friendly service. Marketing strategies, which aim to save the consumer time by ruling out the personal touch, have had limited success so far. For example, shopping by mail-order catalog is currently being aggressively pushed at Irish consumers but, despite the busy nature of most people's lives, it has failed to catch on as yet.

If the relationship is to last, then what's the hurry? The French know that it takes time to invest in an enduring relationship. You have to show respect for the client or supplier. You give them time by waiting for them to join you; you do not then use that time in a way that makes you unavailable, should they enter the room. A "readiness to synchronize" must be shown.

She Attended to the Customer Behind Me

"I was buying a book at Orly Airport, and the woman at the cash register took my credit card, wrapped my book and then calmly attended to the person behind me in the line. 'Hey,' I said, 'why don't you finish serving me?' She looked at me disdainfully and pointed a polished fingernail at the credit card authorization machine. Sure enough, it had not yet okayed my card, but did so a few seconds later. I signed. I still think she should deal with one person at a time." The origin of the speaker's objection lies in sequential assumptions. Given the delay necessitated by credit card checking, it actually saved time in this instance for the assistant to attend to the person behind and allow the transactions overlap.

"I went into a French travel agency because I needed to get my tickets back to New York changed," said an American manager. "The woman behind the counter amazed me by the number of things she was doing at one time. Another woman had brought in her baby for the agent to admire. She was speaking on the telephone, examining my ticket, checking seat availability, making 'coochy-coo' noises at the baby and talking to the baby's mother, all at the same time. I decided to check my ticket carefully in case she had made mistakes, but she hadn't! 'Next please !' she said, to get me out of the way."

Members of synchronous cultures develop the capacity to "parallel process" their mental activities and are sometimes amazingly adept. This ability is rare among men in sequential cultures. Remember the wisecrack about President Ford: "He has trouble chewing gum and walking at the same time."

While personal service is not always good in France, it is certainly involved. One foreign diner was told "Vous mangez mal, madame," - you eat badly , madame - by her waiter because she had salmon both as an appetizer and as a main dish. She was furious.

In good barbershops, a hairdresser who shares your interest can sometimes attend to you. The mingling of hairdressing with interesting conversation is seen as more important than strict sequence, and you may have to wait a few minutes for the right conversation...

The 24- Hour Economy

Singapore's time orientation is synchronic. Singaporeans like it when there is always something to do. Singapore is rapidly becoming a 24-hour economy. There are 24-hour food courts, the Singapore port is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and there are 24-hour medical clinics.

Korean companies take a very synchronic approach to marketing. In their efforts to win global market share quickly, Korean companies tend to start several marketing efforts at the same time. Daewoo expresses this attitude in the slogan : "It's a big world, and there's a lot to be done." Park Gun Woo, director of Daewoo Motors Benelux explained his marketing strategy at the Seoul launch of the Korean sales operation in March 2000 by saying "I choose for speed." His goal in the Netherlands was winning market share rapidly, and he did this by spending a large budget on making the name Daewoo known. He accomplished this by sponsoring a Dutch soccer league team, for example, and by giving away 200 cars to people who would act as test drivers. He was later cited in the Dutch national press as saying that working extremely hard, seven days a week, and expecting others in the company to do the same was "part of the deal" in his company.

In Taiwan shops are open long hours every day of the week. Shopping is a social activity to meet friends , to go with the whole family, to eat, or to go to the cinema. Shopping malls that include recreational facilities are preferred. Theme parks that combine different activities such as Leofoo Village are also quite successful. This is a big amusement park just South of Taipei City, containing a zoo and a safari park, Wild West sections, and an Arabian Kingdom.

For routine activities, such as weekly grocery shopping, British people, like their American counterparts, prefer fast, efficient service. They expect that if lines build up at supermarket checkouts, more cashiers will appear to open other tills and reduce the lines. They are likely to get angry if someone " jumps the line" by moving in ahead of them. Some supermarkets have a "10 items only" lane and if someone goes through with more items they are likely to be reprimanded for doing so. These two examples are probably a combination of the value placed on time and the universalist preoccupation with rules.

History and Advertising in China

The Chinese reverence for companies with long histories is reflected in the marketplace. As awareness of the power of the consumer is growing, more and more Chinese organizations are conducting market research to find out about consumer preferences. In most sectors, the fame of the brand is indicated as the single most important factor that influences Chinese consumers. A three-year-old IBM computer would be preferred to a brand new clone, even by buyers who are familiar with the speed of development of computer technology.

Reconciling Sequential and Synchronic

It is striking how well effective leaders can plan sequentially but also have a strongly developed competence to stimulate parallel processes. We all know "just in time" management as the process in which processes are synchronized to speed up the sequence. Furthermore an effective international marketing campaign will also integrate short and long term and past, present, and future.

Let's look at an example. The Heineken tradition is great but at the same time the seeds for decay are in it. For over a hundred years Heineken has appealed to people's taste. Historically the company's reputation has been maintained at great cost. Recently, however, many special beers have entered the market jeopardizing the established names in the trade. Heineken's approach to innovation was cautious. The company had to maintain the consistency of Heineken's attraction; they had to change to remain consistent. One way of innovating in a way that's not dangerous is to clear a space for a totally new approach, which is separate from existing success and will not endanger it.

Heineken's dilemma was the tension between tradition and stability, and the elusive nature of its success. The company very cleverly embarked on two forms of innovation, which are relatively safe. Process innovation searches for better and newer means of creating the same result and reserving a "safe area for creation." Product innovation allows new drink products to be invented from scratch, without involving Heineken's premium product in these experiments. Heineken's reconciliation of this dilemma is shown in Figure 3.5.

Figure 3.5: Don't mess with success

In conclusion, our new marketing paradigm requires a mindset that reconciles the continuing dilemmas that can arise from all of the cultural dimensions we have looked at in both here and in Chapter 2. Today's successful marketing is the result of linking learning effort across each dimension with the contrasting orientations and viewpoints.