Is time monitoring effective?

15,000 managers were surveyed from around the world and found that in the US, UK, Sweden and the Netherlands time is largely viewed sequentially, as a "race", whereas in Japan, Germany and France, it's conceived as a synchronised "dance" - Hampden-Turner and Tropenaars

This got me thinking about how we, as a society, think about and treat time.

We live under pressure. Where time is everything. Time is managed and broken down into bits 'n' pieces. The more we try to manage it the less we seem to have and the harder it can be to achieve our goals.

We seem to forget the people within all of this. Time management treats everyone like a cog in the machine. It might work to some extent for specific (repetitive) tasks, but when things get even slightly complicated schedules go out the window.

Could you imagine an organisation that doesn't monitor time? Perhaps quoting on projects based on their perceived value? Having employees input what they think is necessary to get the best possible job done. Letting your workforce decide when is the best time to show up to work?

And of course, this could lead on to a performance culture. Do you reward people for showing up on time and working their hours? Or compensate your employees for achieving goals, being creative and going the extra mile (though not necessarily spending more time on the job)?