Mastering International Time

Assume you are a virtual assistant working from your home. As part of your job, you schedule webcasts, online chats, and teleconference calls for businesspeople who are conducting business around the world.

Your Task. To broaden your knowledge of time zones, respond to the following:

a. What does the abbreviation UTC indicate? (Use Google and search for UTC definition.)

b. Internationally, time is shown with a 24-hour clock (sometimes called "military time"). What time does 13:00 indicate? (Use Google; search for 24-hour clock.) How is a 12-hour clock different from a 24-hour clock? With which are you most familiar?

c. You must schedule an audioconference for a businessperson in Indianapolis, Indiana, who wants to talk with a person in Osaka, Japan. What are the best business hours (between 8 and 5) for them to talk? (Many Web sites provide time zone converters. For example, try http://www.timeanddate.com. Click Meeting Planner. Follow the instructions for selecting a day and locations.)

d. What are the best business hours for an online chat between an executive in Atlanta and a vendor in Singapore?

e. When is a businessperson in Arizona most likely to reach a contact in Belgium on Skype during office hours? Your instructor may select other cities for you to search.