The 7S Model of McKinsey

Explanation of the 7-S Framework of McKinsey.

What is the 7-S Framework? Description

The 7-S Framework of McKinsey is a management model that describes 7 factors to organize a company in an holistic and effective way. Together these factors determine the way in which a corporation operates. Managers should take into account all seven of these factors, to be sure of successful implementation of a strategy. Large or small. They're all interdependent, so if you fail to pay proper attention to one of them, this may effect all others as well. On top of that, the relative importance of each factor may vary over time.

Origin of the 7-S Framework. History

The 7-S Framework was first mentioned in "The Art Of Japanese Management" by Richard Pascale and Anthony Athos in 1981. They had been investigating how Japanese industry had been so successful. At around the same time that Tom Peters and Robert Waterman were exploring what made a company excellent. The Seven S model was born at a meeting of these four authors in 1978. It appeared also in "In Search of Excellence" by Peters and Waterman, and was taken up as a basic tool by the global management consultancy company McKinsey. Since then it is known as their 7-S model.

The meaning of the 7 Ss

Shared Values (also called Superordinate Goals).

The interconnecting center of McKinsey's model is: Shared Values. What does the organization stands for and what it believes in. Central beliefs and attitudes. Compare: Strategic Intent

Strategy

Plans for the allocation of a firms scarce resources, over time, to reach identified goals. Environment, competition, customers.

Structure

The way in which the organization's units relate to each other: centralized, functional divisions (top-down); decentralized; a matrix, a network, a holding, etc.

Systems

The procedures, processes and routines that characterize how the work should be done: financial systems; recruiting, promotion and performance appraisal systems; information systems.

Staff

Numbers and types of personnel within the organization.

Style

Cultural style of the organization and how key managers behave in achieving the organization's goals. Compare: Management Styles.

Skills

Distinctive capabilities of personnel or of the organization as a whole. Compare: Core Competences.

Strengths of the 7-S Model. Benefits

Diagnostic tool for understanding organizations that are ineffective.
Guides organizational change.
Combines rational and hard elements with emotional and soft elements.
Managers must act on all Ss in parallel and all Ss are interrelated.

Book: Ethan M. Rasiel, Paul N. Friga - The McKinsey Mind: Understanding and Implementing the Problem Solving Tools and Management Techniques -

7-S Framework Forum (27)

7S Data Collection and Analysis
"What are some of your data collection methods for the 7 S model when using it as a diagnostic tool. The questions provided in the 7S Checklist provide nice direction regarding the "what" we are seeking, but what are some effective methods for collecting the data?
Interviews, focus groups, electronic surveys seem reasonable, but then how do you consolidate for analysis? Seeking tips from those who have used this an a diagnostic tool! Thanks!"

7S X 7S Matrix: Tracking the Mutual Congruency of the 7S Elements
"I have used the 7S for organisational assessment and analysis. I used it in a 7x7 matrix to check the S's for coherence as whether Structure supports Strategy and so on.
This analysis highlights the mutual inconsistencies between all S's."

7S Checklist with Questions for each S
"Here's a list of questions you can use to analyze an organization in terms of the 7S Framework:
STRATEGY:
- What is our strategy?
- How do we intend to achieve our objectives?
- How do we deal with competitive pressure?
- How are changes in customer demands dealt with?
- How is strategy adjusted for environmental issues?
STRUCTURE:
- How is the company/team divided?
- What is the hierarchy?
- How do the various departments coordinate activities?
- How do the team members organize and align themselves?
- Is decision making and controlling centralized or decentralized? Is this as it should be, given what we're doing?
- Where are the lines of communication? Explicit and implicit?
SYSTEMS:
- What are the main systems that run the organization? Consider financial and HR systems as well as communications and document storage.
- Where are the controls and how are they monitored and evaluated?
- What internal rules and processes does the team use to keep on track?
SHARED VALUES:
- What are the core values?
- What is the corporate/team culture?
- How strong are the values?
- What are the fundamental values that the company/team was built on?
STYLE:
- How participative is the management/leadership style?
- How effective is that leadership?
- Do employees/team members tend to be competitive or cooperative?
- Are there real teams functioning within the organization or are they just nominal groups?
STAFF:
- What positions or specializations are represented within the team?
- What positions need to be filled?
- Are there gaps in required competencies?
SKILLS:
- What are the strongest skills represented within the company/team?
- Are there any skills gaps?
- What is the company/team known for doing well?
- Do the current employees/team members have the ability to do the job?
- How are skills monitored and assessed?"

Measuring the Scores on each S of the 7S Framework
"Hello all, have there been parameters developed to measure and/or track the 7 elements of the McKinsey 7S framework in detail?"

Guiding a Change Program with 7-S Model
"How can the 7-S model be used to inform or guide a change program?"

Competitive Edge with 7S Model?
"(How) Can a firm achieve a competitive advantage with the 7S framework?
For me its the shared values and style that make up the competitive advantage of a company. It spells what it really is as an organization, bonds the workforce and competes in retaining memory recall to its customers. It simply spells the difference.
The rest of the 7S-es are management obliged routines."

Changes in Shared Values and Staff
"The values of the organisation may change over time with changes of personnel entering the organisation from the outside. Especially in a growing company a few things happen quickly:
1. Advent of fresh ideas from outside (new people joining in)
2. Slight aberration and erosion in values as they get mingled up. What we get is some kind of cocktail and ambiguity creeping in.
3. With the rapid change, management takes different initiatives and plans which send confused signals to each employee.
Therefore I think that "Staff" is a critical factor to observe as well as its connection to shared values."

7S McKinsey for ISO 14001
"How is the 7S Model from McKinsey used as frame work for ISO 14001 implementation?"

One More S: Solidarity
"I think this is a sound model but Solidarity is missing in this model. It should be the 8S model. Solidarity is a concept of oneness. See the concepts of Dr. Abdullah Alama Muhammad Iqbal which has been taken from Quran (the holy book of Allah) and Maulana Romi."

7-s Model as Basis for a Project Audit
"Could McKinsey's 7-s model be used as a standard/norm for auditing control over projects in organizations. Anyone with experience on this matter?"

McKinsey 7-S Model on Innovation
"I am interested in the application of the 7-S model on organizing innovation structurally in a company.
For instance: what are the choices available for each S, related to the environment of the company.
In other words: How do you link the 7S model to problem of making companies more innovative?"

What is the NEW 7S Framework?
"The new 7 S-es are:
1. Superior Stakeholder Satisfaction
2. Strategic Foretelling
3. Positioning by Speed
4. Positioning by Surprise
5. Shipping rules against competition
6. Signalling strategic intent
7. Simultaneous and Sequential mutual trust.
Can anyone post more about the new 7S please!"

Involving Staff in 7-S Framework
"Implementing the 7-S can be challenging especially without the buying in of staff and management. How can these people best be involved for a swift strategic change?"

McKinsey 7-S Background
"I am doing a presentation on the 7-S framework and was wondering if anyone knew the first time it was successfully implemented and by who? Any other interesting ideas are welcomed as well."

7-S within Government
"It has come to my attention that the 7-S Model is rarely mentioned in its completeness when strategic session or planning is performed at government level. Could it be that government leadership is either unfamiliar with the concept or is it that the model is considered insufficient to address challenges faced by state departments?"

Extra S-es in the 7S Framework by McKinsey
"I was able to utlize the 7S model very effectively to conduct the assessment of the state of the public health system for my research thesis. However, the model was limited in coverage of other critical factors that required assessment and was expanded to include three addional S's. These include:
- 'SETTING' or context within which reform takes place;
- 'STAKEHOLDERS' with their varied roles and interests who play an important role in affecting implementation; and
- 'SEQUENCING', which looks at the manner in which the reforms are implemented.
This expansion may also be applicable to other organizations undergoing reorganization and transformation."

Why are Shared Values in the Center of 7's?
"Why are Shared Values in the Center of 7's? Please help me... Thank you..^^"

Applying the 7 S Framework. Implementation
"I believe the 7's is very difficult to implement at the ORGANIZATION level. So if we would be able to implement the HARD S's i-e Strategy, Structure and System that would be more then enough for a company to gain competive advantage in the market."

7S model organisational Change Overcoming Barries
"How do companies use the 7s model to overcome their barriers while establishing organizational changes?"

Google and its success with 7S
"Hi I am a MBA student and I need to write an assignment about Google`s success. How can I explain its success with 7S framework? Any ideas?? Thanks a lot."

7 S model in the post merger phase
"I'm a Masters student looking at the post merger phase of a university. How can I apply the 7 S model in studying the post merger phase? Please assist"

Effectiveness of 7 s framework
"The model given in 7S framework is so exhaustive that it includes almost all the aspects of the organisation.
- The Superordinate goals provide the clear cut lines on which the employees of the organisation have to work and what the company expects form them.
- Structure, systems and strategy provide the roadmap through which the employees can understand how to go about the work.
- Staff, styles and skills provide the organisation with a lucid set of HAVEs and HAVE NOTs.
All these things put together gives an organisation a proper shape and systematised way of functioning..."

Does the 7-S Model still holds true today?
"Does the 7-S Model still holds true in today's business environment? Companies are increasing outsourcing their functions, and headquarters are only becoming a virtual company. Look at a company like Nike which has become successful without actually owning the production facilities of their own. Instead they outsourced the production around the world. Where do we stand in today's environment, where companies can be virtual and yet make huge profits, with the 7-S Model. I think the time has come to re-define the framework to suit today's globalisation."

Applications of the 7-S Framework
"While some models of organizational effectiveness go in and out of fashion, one that has persisted is the McKinsey 7S framework. Developed in the early 1980s by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, two consultants working at the McKinsey & Company consulting firm, the basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organization that need to be aligned if it is to be successful.
The 7S model can be used in a wide variety of situations where an alignment perspective is useful, for example to help you:
- Improve the performance of a company;
- Examine the likely effects of future changes within a company;
- Align departments and processes during a merger or acquisition;
- Determine how best to implement a proposed strategy."

Communication Problems in the 7S Model of McKinsey
"How do you link the 7S Model to problems related to communication in a work place?"

Limiting choice of 'S' in 7S Framework?
"While reading for my management course, I couldn't help but wonder if the choice of an alphabet limits the scope and skews the interpretation of a model. When formulating a model, how easy / difficult is it to find a word that starts with a particular letter that succinctly describes a concept? To my untrained mind, values like respect, collaboration, openness and others seem to fit in just as well and they don't start with a 'S'. Consider other frameworks out there like the 3C or the 4P in marketing. Did the choice of a particular alphabet leave out important building blocks? I for one can't tell..
"

7S <> Leadership, Management
"How do you link the 7 s framework with leadership and management. Because when discussing leadership and management most writers say leaders set the major objectives and strategies and managers will transmit and implement this strategies. But what confuses me is that stategy is part of the technical skills( hard skills) which is taken care by managers."

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