Black economic empowerment ; Managing growth ; Performance management ; Information technology ; South Africa

On 12 May 1999, Lechabile's management team met in the boardroom for a weekly management meeting.The company was faced with a two-fold strategic issue that had to be resolved. First, how to manage the numerous growth opportunities that presented themselves to the small IT start-up. Secondly, how to manage the increasing numbers of new employees that accompanied growth. With respect to the second point, one board member expressed concern that a particular employee was failing to add value in his division and proposed his redeployment. Another noted that a different employee was not properly skilled and suggested prompt thorough training to rectify the problem. Managing Director Winston Mosiako reflected on the successful interviews he had conducted with eager new staff members over the past two weeks. In view of increasing issues centred on performance, the MD said to his colleagues: 'It seems that we need a formal performance management system - one that would be in keeping with our culture of empowerment'. He asked them: 'What do you propose?' The teaching objectives are: (1) to discuss the concepts associated with black economic empowerment in the South African context, growth strategies for start-up companies, and performance management systems; and (2) to evaluate several options for achieving growth.