Explanation of the 7-S Framework of McKinsey.

Q.What is the 7-S Framework? Description.

Answers:- 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
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7S Framework Special Interest Group

7S Framework Forum
Recent User Comments
Priyang The New 7 S "The new 7 S is:
A - India 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 7 S please!"
Loreen 7-s "Implementing the 7-S can be challenging
Sona - Zim Framework especially without the buying in of staff
and management. How can these people
best be involved for a swift strategic
change?"
Dylan - Unite McKinsey 7s "I am doing a presentation on the 7-s
d States Background framework and was wondering if anyone
knew the first time it was successfully
implemented and by who? Any other
interesting topics are welcomed as well."
Jeff 7-S within "It has come to my attention that the 7-S
Ngobeni - So Government Model is rarely mentioned in its
uth Africa 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?"
Nor Measuring "I have recently developed an interest in
Haniza the 7 7S framework. However I am not sure
Mohamad - Factors how the factors are measured or
Malaysia quantified so they become meaningful."
Best User Comments
Eric - Botswa 7S <> "How do you link the 7 s framework with
na Leadership, leadership and management. Because
Management 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."
Kristine Why are "Why are Shared Values in the Center of
Penalosa Shared 7's? Please help me... Thank you..^^"
Ilagan - Phili Values in the
ppines Center of
7's?
Caroline - Zi 7 S model in "I'm a Masters student looking at the
mbabwe the post post merger phase of a university. How
merger can I apply the 7 S model in studying the
phase post merger phase? Please assist"
Mahamood - Limiting "While reading for my management
India choice of 'S'? 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.. "
Deborah Hard and "The seven S's can be distinguished in
Poulsen - De Soft S's hard S's (the top-3: Strategy, Structure
nmark and Systems) which are relatively easy to
identify and influence. The other 4 S's are
more difficult to identify and influence,
becuase they are less tangible and more
cultural by nature, and are sometimes
neglected in major change efforts and
mergers. However, they are just as
important as the other 3! The 7S model is
a constant reminder for that fact."
Sibusiso Communicati "how do you link the 7S Model to
Thungo - Sou on problems related to communication in a
thAfrica work place?"
John 7-S "1) We should have in mind that,
T. - Greece Framework according to the creators of this
Framework, number 7 is not of great
importance. It could be 6 or 8 etc. 2) I
believe that the strong (another S -!!!-)
basis of this Framework is
Humans/People of an organization. They
can be found behind every one of these
"S"s. 3) If the Framework is faced as
"open" and "dynamic" and, also, from a
holistic perspective, it can be an
interesting tool for contemporary
organizations."
Vinod - India Applications "While some models of organizational
of the 7-S effectiveness go in and out of fashion,
Framework 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."
Carlo - Nethe 7S "You can create a 7S Confrontation
rlands Confrontatio Matrix with all 7 S-es listed both
n Matrix horizontally and vertically. In the cells or
intersections you list the expected
impact / potential problem areas /
solutions of a strategy or a strategy
change.
This allows you to make a holistic and
structured analysis and prevents you skip
major attention areas."
duygu Google and "Hi I am a MBA student and I need to
bayrakci - U its success write an assignment about Google`s
K with 7S success. How can I explain its success
with 7S framework? Any ideas?? Thanks a
lot."
Tony Does the 7-S "Does the 7-S Model still holds true in
Gyau - The Model still today's business environment?
Netherlands holds true Companies are increasing outsourcing
today? 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."
Tharshi - Sril 7S model "How do companies use the 7s model to
anka organisation overcome their barriers while
al Change establishing organizational changes?"
Overcoming
Barries
andrew 7-s "How to apply the 7-s framework to
nyamande - framework effective leadership performance?"
Zimbabwe and
Leadership
Performance
Dr. Dexter Additional S- "I was able to utlize the 7S model very
James - Trini es Beyond effectively to conduct the assessment of
dad and the 7 S'es the state of the public health system for
Tobago 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;
 - the many '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."

Medhavin Effectivenes "The model given in 7S framework is so

ee - India s of 7 s exhaustive that it includes almost all the
framework 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..."
Hammad Implementat "I believe the 7's is very difficult to
Amjad - Paki ion of 7 S's implement at the ORGANIZATION level.
stan 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."
India - Dibya State Bank "Hi I'm a MBA student. and i need to
Ranjan Of India & write an assignment about State Bank Of
Mallick it's success India success. How can i explain it's
with 7S success with 7S framework ? Any idea ?
'please assist'"
je juico - phil Most "Among the seven s-es, which is the most
Important S important one to be become a successful
organization or company?"