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7-S Framework
(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

 

McKinsey 7-S frameworkShared 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 -

 

7S Framework Forum

Recent User Comments
Sibusiso Thungo - SouthAfrica Communication "how do you link the 7S Model to problems related to communication in a work place?"    4
Mahamood - India Limiting choice of 'S'? "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.. "    5
John T. - Greece 7-S Framework "1) We should have in mind that, 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."    12
Heylen - Belgium Success "Note to the editor... Had a typo in my last comment. What was meant to say is that communicating success (or failure) can influence the organization - even with unchanged 7S's. Communicating success can cause for a surge in the effectiveness of an organization and communicating failure can cause for the organization to come to a grinding halt or to flounder for a while."    6
Eric - Botswana Enquiry "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. My email ericmbayiwa@yahoo.co.uk"    22
Best User Comments
Deborah Poulsen - Denmark Hard and Soft S's "The seven S's can be distinguished in hard S's (the top-3: Strategy, Structure 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."    31
Deborah Poulsen - Denmark Expanded 7-S Model "In a paper, Darden-professor Jack Weber has suggested to include SITUATION and STAKEHOLDERS to acknowledge that an organization exist in a broader context. Furthermore he suggested to add SUCCESS (including but not limited to financial success) as an outcome and he puts SELF (=Leadership) at the center of the model."    15

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Compare with the 7-S Framework: Causal Model of Organizational Performance and Change  |  Ashridge Mission Model  |  Strategic Alignment  |  McKinsey Matrix

 

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  § Wallace (INDIA) Answer "Hello Mahamood, 4P's refer to Product, Price, Place, Promtion. But there is no end to it. Actually Politics of a country is the most important P. Similarly Packaging, Power, Pace are also equally significant. Similarly although you speak of three C's, we can add as many C's as we want."
  § Nilesh (USA) 7S Framework "It is really amazing to see how well models can fit into words from same alphabet. Or usually things can be divided into two/three main categories. Beyond the limitation or possibilities with words underlying theoretical concepts are more important. Key aspect of 7s framework lies in the interaction of hard and soft constructs such as strategy and style etc. Now any scheme that can comprehensively and distinctly cover these hard and soft factors would suffice."
  § Wojtek (Scotland) Frameworks "Every framework aims to simplify things. That's what they are all about. You wont find a perfect one. One letter of alphabet is used to help you remember that's all. Basically it is up to you if you use a framework in a given situation or not."

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  § Sarah (Malawi) Leadership & Management "there is a figure in a book by Watson (1983), its got demarcations for the hard and soft triangle. the hard one is for management and the soft one is for leadership. it might be of assistance"

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  § swaraj vinjapuri (USA) Hard and Soft S's "Thanks Daeborah for your comments, I echo your thoughts. The last 4-S are more difficult and often neglected and are the major reason companies and organizations fail."
  § John T. (Greece) Hard and Soft S's "It would be better if you have mentioned the writer of these thoughts !!!"
  § Alan (UK) Soft Ss and Hard Ss in Management "At the time Pascale and Tanner and Athos wrote their book The Art of Japanese Management (1981), managers in US (Western) firms were preoccupied with the hard Ss. Japanese managers were believed to be superior, due to the attention they gave to the soft Ss. Partly because of this book and the 7S Framework in the last decades the overall trend in the US (and in Europe to a lesser degree) has been directed towards the soft Ss."

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  § Heylen (Belgium) Success "Rather than including "Success" as an outcome as suggested by Prof J. Weber, it could have been included as a factor as well. The perception of having success or the absence of having will have a large impact on the effectiveness of an organization. A simple communication of lack of failure can sometime paralyze an organization, even when all other resources have been increased/improved."

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