All organisations exist for a purpose and survival is the most common to all organisations. Changes to the internal and external environment often require the organisation to realign its activities to suit the changes. Ignoring the changes normally threatens the purpose of existence of the organisation. One of the triggers for change in the direction is the recognition of the performance gap. All changes require management to take strategic decisions and there are risks which such decisions entail. This project is about Ithala Development Finance Corporation's strategic direction where reassessment .was triggered mainly by the increased need to be financially self-sustainable in addition to meeting its development mandate. This naturally demanded that Ithala venture into new areas of operation including inter alia new products, new markets, new geographic areas and, more importantly, new internal competencies. All change involves risks and uncertainties as it challenges the status quo, established mindsets and cultures. These are just some of the challenges facing Ithala in devising its new strategic direction. Evaluation criteria are intended to assess whether a particular sequence of actions will result in the desired positions or postures. Evaluation enables the organisation to make objective judgements about the probable outcomes of the proposed actions before implementation. It is the last chance for the organisation to take alternative recommendations seriously and make amends. The purpose is to prevent surprises.

Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.