UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND EXTERNAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF EXTERNAL STUDIES

DEPARTMENT OF EXTRA-MURAL STUDIES

MASTERS IN PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

COURSE CODE: LDP 601

COURSE TITLE: FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT

LECTURER: DR. HARRIET J. KIDOMBO

NAME: WAMBUGU SAMUEL MWANGI

REG. NUMBER: L50/68096/2011

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 18TH FEBRUARY, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………….3

Managerial Roles …………………………………………………………………………….4

Importance of Management to an Organization …………………………………………..…7

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………8

REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………………9

ROLES AND IMPORTANCE OF MANAGEMENT AS A RESOURCE TO AN
• First-level Management: this level is made up of supervisors who have been promoted from production or clerical positions into supervisory positions. Majority have low level of education which is technical-centred. Majority of employees are found in this level. Supervisors help shape the attitudes of new employees toward the firm. Newcomers who like and respect their first level manager tend to stay with the firm longer.

Different levels of managers will play different roles to a different extent. For instance, a front line (junior) supervisor will likely be a resource allocator and a disturbance handler to far greater extent than they will act as a figurehead. A chief executive likely will act as a spokesperson and perhaps an entrepreneur more than they will act as a monitor (Quinn, 2010: p12)

2. MANAGERIAL ROLES

A role, in the business context, is an expected set of activities or behaviours originating from a job. Essentially, the role of managers is to guide the organizations toward goal accomplishment. All organizations exist for certain purposes or goals, and managers are responsible for combining and using organizational resources to ensure that their organizations achieve their purposes. According to Dublin in his book Essentials of Management (2000) states that roles and functions are closely related (they are both activities carried out by managers). Borrowing from Mintzberg