Time to Stop Excuses for Lateness
不要再为迟到找借口了
   There are always a couple of people in every office who are habitually late for work. How should a manager handle the problem in a multicultural environment? Should he be patient because different cultures have their own concepts of time? Or should he take disciplinary action?
    每个办公室总有一部分人上班经常迟到。作为管理人员应该怎样处理多元文化环境下的这一问题呢？是对不同文化不同时间观念的认可而耐心地去看待这一点还是采取一些惩戒性的措施呢？


     Scholars tell us that Westerners and Asians approach time differently. Culturally, Westerners live more in the present and the near future. Asians live more in the ancient past or in the distant future.
    一些学者告诉我们说在时间观念方面，东西方国家截然不同。 由于文化上的差异，西方人更多的是活在当前和不久的将来，而东方人生活在久远的的过去和遥远的未来。

     Asians try to avoid a neurotic slavery to time, viewing life as a passing moment in eternity. They enjoy the sense of "zero gravity" that comes from travelling without an immediate goal or an urgent objective.
    亚洲人尽量避免成为时间的神经质的奴隶，他们把生活看作人世间的一刹那。他们喜欢旅游所带来的“失重感”，没有近期目标，也没有紧急任务。

     To many Asians, life is a long journey and happiness is simply not a matter of time. Instead of rushing, they prefer to maintain a steady pace. Quietly watching the seasons change or children grow is certainly not considered a waste of time.
    对于许多亚洲人来说，生命是一种长途旅行。幸福绝对不是时间的问题。他们喜欢迈着悠悠的步伐，而不喜欢来去匆匆。静静地看着春去秋来，看着孩子们长大成人一点儿也不会被认为是浪费时间的事。

     Westerners believe that happiness is just over the next hill. A little more time, money or struggle will get them there. Americans, in particular, live by time-pressing schedules and deadlines.
    西方人相信幸福就在不远处前方，多点时间，多点金钱或奋斗就会使他们达到目标。特别是美国人，他们就靠时间紧迫的日程安排和最后期限而生存。

    But how does this insight, so studiously compiled by academics, relate to the need for punctuality in the office? Should we extrapolate from this difference in cultural outlook that it's justified for some employees to be tardy in today's office life? Does it mean that a manager should disregard punctuality as an office discipline?
    但是学究们深思熟虑悟出的这一见解有时如何与上班守时联系起来的呢？我们是否能从文化方面的差异得出结论，一些雇员上班拖拖拉拉就是合情合理的呢？还是经理应该忽视守时这条工作纪律呢？

     On the surface, it might seem that a manager may have to be more tolerant about punctuality with some cultural groups than others. But this is unwarranted in an urban civilization. It would give credence to the academic literature that implies the time orientation in such a culture is inferior to that in the West.
    从表面上看，管理者也许会对一些文化群体的人比来其他人在收拾方面更宽容。但是这在城市文明中是站不住脚的。它将使人相信此种文化的时间观念比西方的时间观念逊色这一学术论调。

     This confuses two entirely different things: observance of punctuality and the philosophical perception of time.
    这就混淆了两种截然不同的东西：守时和对时间的哲学观。

    The problem, perhaps, is that in our social life in Asia we tend to be more tolerant of friends and relatives who make us wait for half an hour at a downtown rendezvous. We do not think they are taking our friendship or affection for granted. We do not consider them guilty of disrespect. What is worse, we lei; them exonerate themselves with dubious excuses.
    问题可能是，在我们亚洲人的社会生活中，对于那些让我们在市区的约会地点等上半小时的亲友们，我们往往更宽容，我们并不会觉得他们把友情感情不当一回事儿。我们也不会认为他们失礼，更糟糕的是，我们还让他们用含糊的借口为自己开脱责任。

    But how we react to latecomers in our social lives is a matter of individual choice. In the world of modern business we cannot afford that flexibility.
   但是如何对待社会生活中的迟到问题，那是我们个人的事。而在现代商业领域，我们不容许有这种灵活性。


     Nobody minds if a person is late to work once in-a blue moon. Punctuality should not be allowed to become a fad.   But in an office environment, there has to be a climate of discipline in which people respect the keeping of time.
    如果一个人偶尔迟到，没人在意。但是守时不因该成为一时的风尚。在公共环境中，应该有这样一种纪律约束的氛围来使人们守时。


     Even in those companies which maintain flexible time, there are set hours when employees must be present in the office. Otherwise it is impossible to call a meeting of people from different departments.
    甚至正在那些有灵活办公时间的公司里，也必须规定什么时间雇员必须在办公室，否则是不可能召集所有在不同部门工作的员工开会。


     Some companies may choose to stagger the opening and closing time of their offices to enable employees to avoid the rush hour. But that does not mean there is no longer a need for punctuality.
     有些公司也许会主动改变员工的上下班时间，使他们避开上下班高峰期，但是这不表示不需要守时。


   Being late is, generally, a problem relating to only a small number of employees. A manager should try to break their bad habits through counselling, repeatedly if required. It's not an easy task and in some cases requires fair amount of patience.
    一般来说，迟到只是与小部分职员有关。管理者应该试图通过劝告—必要时刻反复劝告---来改变这种不良习惯。 这并不是一件容易的事情，甚至在某些情况下它要求具有相当的而耐心才能做到。