Time and play in management practice: An investigation through the philosophies of McTaggart and Heidegger

SummaryFollowing the work of the idealist philosopher John McTaggart, we argue studies of management practice use two senses of socially constructed time, distinguished as A and B series. In B series, time is spatialized into calculable instants allowing the structuring and intensification of commercial activity into sequences of means and ends, something that that aids exploitation. In A series, time is akin to experience in which the future and past are open to subjects’ imagination and interpretation, something that aids exploration. We then extend this theorization of time in management practice; specifically we conceptually develop A series by considering the intimacy between time, experience and existence. Drawing on the work of Heidegger we develop another idea of time – ‘world time’ – in which altogether different possibilities for managerial practice may be glanced, ones associated with experiment and play in which time is no longer something to be saved, or made use of, because time is no longer understood as a resource, or even a thing. World time, we argue, develops the work of James March, by de-coupling exploration from exploitation; no longer is one in the service of the other.

► We show how management practice itself arises from a specific understanding of clock time.
► We discuss different understandings of temporality (experiencing time).
► We argue for the importance and restoration of play in managerial life.