This book explores the relationship between professionals (and professionalism) and the new managerialism by using in-depth studies from education, social work and medicine. It shows that, in practice, the relationship is characterized by a range of outcomes, from conflict to patterns of compromise and collaboration. This challenges the often taken-for-granted assumptions about the distinctiveness, even oppositional nature, of managerialism and managers on the one hand and professionalism and professionals on the other, and sheds new light on long-standing debates.