This book addresses one of the most central issues in the field of management and answers the following questions: What do managers actually do at work? How do they tackle their responsibilities and work pressures? The book takes a practice perspective by using the behaviour and activities of knowledgeable, experienced, and skilful managers as the primary data for theorizing about management. In this perspective, successful management requires understanding and artistry in addition to knowledge, experience, and skills. The practice perspective calls attention to how widespread certain management practices are, how management practices are performed in everyday work, and what the outcomes of such practices are. Moreover, the book tackles fundamental management questions such as: Why do managers work in a very different ways than most management literature describes? What can we learn from the everyday work practices of successful managers? What are the similarities and differences in work behaviour among different kinds of managers? This book presents thirteen chapters on various kinds of managers: from construction site managers to university vice chancellors and from front-line health-care managers to CEOs of large companies. Another chapter reviews the classic studies on managerial work. Other chapters address research design and research methodology related to management studies.