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African American Time Orientation Summary

Decent Essays

Activity of orientation: how culture views human actions, expression of self and their values through their activities. This is broken down into 3 subjects:

a. "Being" which is when a culture embrace life as it is or where they are at at this moment, expression of individual essence or personality, indulge in pleasure, and also defined through fixed qualities, background and social rank. The African American and Greek cultures are prime examples of this when who a person is matters more than what a person does. It is a nondevelopmental concept of activity often related to Spanish-Americans and their love of fiestas.

b. "Doing" which is when a culture identifies themselves in terms of actions, professions or occupations. In the American …show more content…

Some cultures orient themselves in the past, where traditions, long term commitments and ancestry play a major role within these cultures. Learning from history and continuing traditions is its motto. Older countries such as India and China tend to be past-oriented, they are more laid back and do not put an emphasis on time. The trains in India are often late, which seems to be the norm for pretty much everything, and the people do not worry about it. Other cultures are future oriented meaning they emphasis what is to come. This orientation believes in planning ahead, getting ready for the future and sacrificing for a better future. America is a perfect example of future orientation because it tends to focus on the future, lives often run by the clock and it values busyness. The busier the better and often want instant gratification. We are often judged on how busy we are vs. how much time we spend doing nothing. This reminds me of a quote "time means money," which to me equates to make every minute count. It is a culture that likes everything fast such as fast-food, instant coffee and speed-dating. And finally some cultures orient themselves towards a present orientation, where they focus on the here and now because the past is the past and the future may never come. This culture tends to prefer short-term benefits and immediate results especially within the Latin American countries. "Carpe diem" means seize the day and is associated with a present

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