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Experience has clearly indicated the need to integrate the people functions of a business with its other operations, present and projected. As a starting place, management must ask itself “how big do we want this firm to be?” and “where will the necessary capital and people come from?”. There have been many articles written discussing the investment demanded by growth, the importance of cash flow and appropriate capital structure. However, the most widely overlooked factor in organizational planning is the people side of the business. It may make good conversation to discuss how the firm will grow to a figure of 1 million dollars, 5 million dollars or 100 million dollars in volume, but this is simply unrealistic thinking unless the issue of translating that volume into the types and numbers of people required is clearly addressed.

I. Introduction For over forty years, a model for Third World development has gained widespread acceptance. Three key premises underpin the traditional development model: (1) the identification of “development” with the maximization of the rate of national economic growth; (2) the quest to achieve Western living standards and levels of industrialization which require the transfer of labor from the agricultural to the industrial sector as well as increased consumerism; and (3) the integration into the interdependence of Third World nations in the global economy and the global marketplace. Increasing the demand for a Third World nation's exports (in other words, export‐led growth) is viewed as leading to the maximization of a nation's Gross National Product (GNP).

To show that developing proprietary software is the best alternative for many small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Full control of the software makes it possible to remain flexible and dynamic, and to conform to the need of the customer at any time.

The approach is case based.

Modern development tools make in‐house development feasible. Costs are often comparable to that of using standard ERP systems. In‐house development does not need to encompass all functions, as it is easy to integrate off‐the‐shelf systems with proprietary development. Being in control of core software is important for the day‐to‐day activities of a company, and also for gaining a strategic advantage.

In‐house development will be most useful for niche companies. Further, SMEs will have an advantage as they more easily can integrate standard systems with proprietary software.

Many managers have excluded the possibility of developing their own software, based on experience with time consuming and expensive projects in the past. Thus, implementing standard ERP systems is often viewed as the only solution. However, these systems may impose a rigid structure on a company, threatening the dynamic nature of many SMEs. We show that many companies have a better alternative.