ARRANGING TIME

Traveling to all corners of the world gets easier and easier. We live in a global village, but how well do we know and understand each other? Here is a simple test.

Imagine you have arranged a meeting at four o'clock. What time should you except your foreign business colleagues to arrive? If they are Germans, they will be bang on time. If they American, they'll probably 15 minutes earlier. If they are British, they'll be 15 minutes late, and you should allow up to an hour for Italians!

When the European Community began ti increase in size, several guidebooks appeared giving advice on international etiquette. At first many people thought this was a joke, especially the British, who seemed to assume that the widespread understanding of their language meant a corresponding understanding of English customs.