Introduction

After we have looked into these real management challenges, we can search for different approaches to tackling these challenges. But first we have to explore what has to be done, and after that we will present different ways to do it. As a comparison, the design presented by Suh (1990, 2001) includes the “what” and “how” aspects of optional solutions, that is, first deciding what needs to be done, and then finding optional approaches to how it can be done. In this book, the goal is to design a working management solution for the given management challenge. This is done with the help of propositions that together form the big picture of the management field to meet these real challenges and to manage organizational resources in real life in real contexts. These propositions and the framework they form together represent the author’s experience and understanding of the field from both the practitioner’s and the researcher’s viewpoints. But first, let us begin by looking at the challenges that are facing management.