MCKINSEY 7S

MODEL
Introduction

 The model was developed in the late 1970s by Tom Peters and
Robert Waterman, former consultants at McKinsey &
Company.
 They identified seven internal elements of an organization that
need to align for it to be successful.
The Seven Elements of the McKinsey 7-S
Framework
 The model categorizes the seven elements as either "hard" or
"soft"
 The three "hard" elements are strategy, structures (such as
organization charts and reporting lines), and systems (such as
formal processes and IT systems.)
 These are relatively easy to identify, and management can
influence them directly.
 The four "soft" elements, on the other hand, can be harder to
describe, less tangible, and more influenced by your
company culture.
 But they're just as important as the hard elements if
the organization is going to be successful.
 Strategy: this is your organization's plan for building and
maintaining a competitive advantage over its competitors.

 Structure: this how your company is organized (that is, how

departments and teams are structured, including who reports to
whom).

 Systems: the daily activities and procedures that staff use to get
the job done.
 Shared values: these are the core values of the organization, as
shown in its corporate culture and general work ethic.

 They were called "super-ordinate goals" when the model was first
developed.

 Style: the style of leadership adopted.

 Staff: the employees and their general capabilities.

 Skills: the actual skills and competencies of the organization's

employees.
 Using the McKinsey 7-S
Model
 Start with your shared values: are they consistent with your
structure, strategy, and systems? If not, what needs to
change?
 Then look at the hard elements. How well does each
one support the others? Identify where changes need to
be made.
 Next, look at the soft elements. Do they support the
desired hard elements? Do they support one another? If
not, what needs to change?
 As you adjust and align the elements, you'll need to use an
iterative (and often time-consuming) process of making
adjustments, and then re-analyzing how that impacts other
elements and their alignment.
Advantages

 Emphasis on a firm’s strategy implementation.

 Organizational efectiveness 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

 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

Thank you