McKinsey’s 7S model for Academic Libraries

Anil Kumar Jharotia

Librarian, Tecnia Institute of Advanced Studies, Delhi
Email: aniljharotia@yahoo.com

Abstract

McKinsey's 7S framework is a model for analyzing organizations and their effectiveness. It

looks at the seven key elements that make the libraries successful managed by strategy,
structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills. It can be aligned with any libraries
issue that needs to be updated. In the academic library context, the 7S model can be usefully
extended to include three library functions (Space, Stuff, and Services) and users. It can also
include institutional influences and stakeholders, and aspects of the external environment or
situation, including suppliers and allies. The revised model then provides a useful framework
within which data about library change can be analyzed. Perceived barriers to successful
performance fit the model and enable the identification of seven challenges of alignment.

Keywords: Academic, Library, Model, McKinsey,

Introduction

The McKinsey 7S model was developed during the late 1970s by the McKinsey & Co. as a
conceptual framework “useful in diagnosing the causes of organizational malaise and in
formulating programs for improvement”. The model constituted an attempt to provide a
response to the widespread frustration experienced by executives at the time of dealing
effectively with general management problems related to strategic and organizational factors.
The framework surpasses the classic simplistic notion that “structure follows strategy” as it
links strategy not only with structure but also with other five elements. In addition to Strategy
and Structure, the other elements or variables of the framework that we discuss below are the
following: shared values, skills, staff, systems and style.

McKinsey model play a vital role to update and managed the academic libraries and without
this model we cannot upgrade libraries.

McKinsey 7s Model History

The McKinsey 7s Framework was developed in 1980s by two famous business consultants,
namely Tom Peter and Robert H. Waterman with assistance from Richard Pascal and
Anthony G. Athos. The tool has extensively been employed by academics and partitions
since its beginning. However, it has been deemed to be one of the most well-known tools
used for strategic planning. It attempts to place too much attention on human resources as an
essential aspect to boost the organizational performance of firms.
The model’s ultimate objective is demonstrating how the 7 internal elements, which have
been mentioned earlier, can be aligned together to reach efficiency in an organization.
Moreover, the model is based on the premise that all these seven elements are interwoven.
Thus, any alteration to one element needs alteration to the rest of an organization so as to
operate successfully and perform well.

What is The McKinsey 7S Framework?

The McKinsey 7S Framework is a management model developed by well-known business

consultants Robert H. Waterman, and Tom Peters (who also developed the MBWA-
"Management By Walking Around" motif, and authored In Search of Excellence) in the
1980s. This was a strategic vision for groups, to include businesses, business units, and
teams. The 7 S are structure, strategy, systems, skills, style, staff and shared values.

The model is most often used as an organizational analysis tool to assess and monitor
changes in the internal situation of an organization.

Fig.1: 7S McKinsey Framework

The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, these seven
elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help
identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and
performance) during other types of change.

Whatever the type of change – restructuring, new processes, computerized libraries, digitized
libraries, organizational merger, new systems, change of leadership, and so on – the model
can be used to understand how the organizational elements are interrelated, and so ensure that
the wider impact of changes made in one area is taken into consideration.
Definition of McKinsey 7S Model

McKinsey 7s model is a tool that analyzes firm’s organizational design by looking at 7 key
internal elements: strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills, in order to
identify if they are effectively aligned and allow organization to achieve its objectives.

The McKinsey 7S Model is a framework for organizational effectiveness that postulates that
there are seven internal factors of an organization that need to be aligned and reinforced in
order for it to be successful. The 7S Model was developed at consulting firm McKinsey &
Co. in the early 1980s by consultants Tom Peters and Robert Waterman.

Mckinsey 7S Models

1. Strategy: the plan devised to maintain and build competitive advantage over the
competition. Strategy is the main factor to upgrade and managed the academic
libraries.
2. Structure: the way the organization is structured and who reports to whom. Library
structure and library building structure should be accordingly fifth law of library
science i.e. Library is a growing organism.
3. Systems: the daily activities and procedures that staff members engage in to get the
job done. Academic libraries should have proper system like software for managed
the library and Classification system for managed the libraries. It should be DDC or
Colon Classification.
4. Style: the style of leadership adopted. Whole library administrative by Librarian so
style of leadership of librarian should be cooperative.
5. Staff: the employees and their general capabilities. Libraries staff should be punctual
and dedicate to learn works.
6. Skills: the actual skills and competencies of the employees working for the company.
Library employee should be skilled they should familier to operate computers and
work on software like Libsys, Libman, Newgenlib, Netlib, Koha etc.
7. Shared Values: called "superordinate goals" when the model was first developed,
these are the core values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture
and the general work ethic. Shared values are the pinnacle of the model and therefore
in any organization. They form the underpinning culture, strategy, effectiveness and
performance, linking to every other element in this framework. They link all that is of
the organization: how people behave, the structure, its systems and so on.

The Seven Factors of the 7S Model

The strategy is the plan deployed by an organization in order to remain competitive in its
industry and market. An ideal approach is to establish a long-term strategy that aligns with
the other elements of the model, and clearly communicates what the organization’s objective
and goals are.

The structure of the organization and library is made up of its corporate hierarchy, chain of
command, and divisional makeup that outline how the operations function and interconnect.
In effect, it details the management configuration and responsibilities of workers.
Systems of the company and library refer to the daily procedures, workflow, and decisions
that make up the standard operations within the organization. Like issuance through library
software and reading materials arranged by standard classification schemes.

Skills comprise the talents and capabilities of the organization’s staff and management,
which can determine the types of achievements and work the company can accomplish. There
may come a time when a company assesses its available skills and decides it must make
changes in order to achieve the goals set forth in its strategy. Library staff should be skilled to
handle the any problem.

Style speaks to the example and approach that management takes in leading the company, as
well as how this influences performance, productivity, and corporate culture. Librarian’s
leadership should be cooperative for staff and users.

Staff refers to the personnel of the company, how large the workforce is where their
motivations reside, as well as how they are trained and prepared to accomplish the tasks set
before them. Staff is prime factor of any organization so it should be well manner and
educated because library provides services so staff should be cooperative and soft spoken.

Shared values are the commonly accepted standards and norms within the company that
influence and temper the behavior of the entire staff and management. This may be detailed
in company guidelines presented to the staff. In practice, shared values relate to the actual
accepted behavior within the workplace.

Application of the 7S Framework

The application of the 7S framework is based on a two-step mapping approach. The first step
is used for an assessment of the actual configuration of the elements and the second step is
used to describe the intended ideal configuration. The 7S framework is helpful in evaluating
the wider reaching impact and interrelatedness of change processes in organizations and
libraries.

The main limitation of the 7S model is its lack of specific drivers or measurement categories.
Although the seven core elements provide a high-level framing and the central notion of
shared values connects the soft with the hard elements well, it is difficult to identify the most
critical sub elements for each category or to aggregate them into a cohesive measurement.
This means, if one category is rather weakly developed, alignment between an existing and
an intended model might be presumed but in reality there could still be important elements
that are not aligned because they were not considered in the first place. Hence, a detailed case
study and very deep insights into the organization and its processes are crucial preliminary
requirements for making the application of the 7S model work. This, however, does not
happen often and especially not from the inside. Daily tasks and routines take priority over
in-depth internal assessment chores. A further concern is that the connection with the external
environment of the organization is completely missing from the 7S framework.

The 7S Framework is mainly used to trace performance problems in an organization to

subsequently change and/or improve these. With a blueprint or (photo) of these performance
problems, several elements could be put to use in a targeted manner. It is important in this to
compare the present situation (IST) with the desired and future situation (SOLL). The 7S
Framework constitutes a good framework, in which possible gaps and inconsistencies
between IST and SOLL can be traced and adjusted.

How to Use the 7S Model?

The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, these seven
elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help
identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and
performance) during other types of change.

Whatever the type of change – restructuring, new processes, organizational merger, new
systems, change of leadership, and so on – the model can be used to understand how the
organizational elements are interrelated, and so ensure that the wider impact of changes made
in one area is taken into consideration.

Role of McKinsey’s 7S model for Libraries

The basis of the 7S framework is that for library to meet its objective it is essential all the
seven elements are in sync and mutually balancing. The model is used to identify which out
of 7 factors need to be balanced as to align with change and upgrade in libraries.

7S Mckinsey model play vital role to manage the library. Mckinsey model has 7S i.e.
Strategy, Structure, System, Staff, Style (Leadership), Skill, Shared Value. In these models
six models are very important to upgrade and managed the library like Strategy, Structure,
System, Staff, Style (Leadership) and Skill. Without these factors library will not managed
properly so Library should apply 7S Mckinsey model for systematic and managed library.

Technology and 7S Framework

We are living in digital age so now many books, journals and magazines are available on
digital form. In digital age, technology and technology-driven information systems both are
game changer as far as meeting objective for organization is concerned. Companies are
moving towards automation, cloud computing, etc. This has led to technology as central
nervous system of the organization.

The 7S framework is applicable across all industries and companies. It is one of the premier
models used to measure organizational effectiveness. In this challenging environment,
strategy of organization is constantly evolving. In such an environment, it is essential
organization to look back upon its seven elements to identify the source which is hampering
the growth. Libraries can use the 7S models to identify its position with existing strategy to
manage and upgrade the libraries.

Advantages of Mckinsey 7S Model

▪ Emphasis on an organization’s strategy implementation.

▪ Organizational effectiveness was not dependent on just strategy and structure.
 ▪ Comprehensive because the analyst must consider each of the seven constructs, and
how they interact.
▪ First model to meld the “hard” and “soft” aspects of the enterprise.
▪ Emphasizes coordination of key tasks.
▪ Model was also one of the first to help connect academic research with managerial
practice.

Disadvantages of Mckinsey 7S Model

• May miss some fine-grained areas in which gaps in strategy conception or execution
can arise.
• Little empirical support for the model or of its originator’s conclusions.
• Remains difficult to properly assess the degree of fit.
• Difficult for analysts to explain what should be done for implementation using the
model.
• The 7S is mostly a static model (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2007)

Conclusion

The 7S model, developed by Mckinsey Consulting, can describe how affectively one can
organize a company, holistically. It is based around seven key elements of any organization,
with the view that in order for it to operate successfully, all the elements in this model must
align synergistically together. The McKinsey 7S model is one that can be applied to almost
any organizational or team effectiveness issue. If something within your organization or team
isn't working, chances are there is inconsistency between some of the elements identified by
this classic model. Once these inconsistencies are revealed, you can work to align the internal
elements to make sure they are all contributing to the shared goals and values. McKinsey play
a vital role to manage and update the academic libraries and without this model we cannot
upgrade libraries.

References

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[4] Schwering, R. E. (2003). Focusing leadership through force field analysis: new variations
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