Cover Page -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- 1 Understanding becomes a key issue -- A paradigm shift is taking place in management -- Socio-economic forces behind the paradigm shift -- Research emphasizes understanding as the basis of human action -- The paradigm shift: from instruction to vision -- How this book is organized -- Summary -- 2 The rise of an interpretative perspective on management -- Management has been dominated by a rationalistic perspective -- The alternative: the interpretative perspective -- What is the practical relevance of having one perspective or the other? -- A gradual shift of perspective in management research -- Research paradigms control the content of knowledge -- 3 Human competence at work: a question of understanding -- Human competence: the basis for all enterprises -- Rationalistic approaches to competence -- Towards an interpretative approach to competence -- A practical example: competence in engine optimization -- Understanding: the basis for human competence at work -- Concluding remarks -- 4 Understanding: the basis for competence development -- Understanding as the basis for what competence we develop at work -- Understanding as the basis for how we develop competence at work -- How does understanding operate? -- Reflection: a basic condition for developing competence -- 5 Shared understanding: the basis for collective competence and its development -- Collective versus individual competence -- The social nature of understanding -- Shared understanding of flute manufacturing -- Collective competence as culture -- Developing collective competence by changing shared understanding -- 6 Understanding and its transformation -- Once again - what is understanding? -- Issues involved in transforming understanding -- Concluding remarks -- 7 Methods and principles for managing understanding.

Possible methods for managing understanding -- Language-driven methods -- Action-driven methods -- Guiding principles for managing understanding -- Concluding remark -- 8 Management: a question of managing understanding -- Shift in focus and new priorities in management practice -- The paradigm shift reshapes the point of leadership -- Avoiding the rationalistic trap -- Some problematic power issues in managing understanding -- Conclusion -- References -- Index.