Mckinsey 7s Framework

2.2.9 McKINSEY’S 7S FRAMEWORK The McKinsey 7S Framework is a management model developed by well-known business consultants Robert H. Waterman, Jr. and Tom Peters. The 7S are structure, strategy, systems, skills, style, staff and shared values. The model is most often used as a tool to assess and monitor changes in the internal situation of an organization. The McKinsey 7Ss model is one that can be applied to almost any organizational or team effectiveness issue. This model is a tool for managerial analysis and action that provides a structure with which to consider a company as a whole, so that the organization’s problems may be diagnosed and a strategy may be developed and implemented. 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.

The McKinsey 7S model involves seven interdependent factors, which are categorized as either “hard” or “soft” elements: “Hard” elements are easier to define or identify and management can directly influence them: These are strategy statements; organization charts and reporting lines; and formal processes and IT systems.

“Soft” elements, on the hand, can be more difficult to describe, and less tangible and more influenced by culture. However, these soft elements are as important