The McKinsey 7S Model refers to a tool that analyses a company’s organisational design. The goal of the model is to depict how effectiveness can be achieved in an organisation through the interactions of seven key elements – Structure, Strategy, Skill, System, Shared Values, Style, and Staff.
The focus of the McKinsey 7s Model lies in the interconnectedness of the elements that are categorized by ‘Soft Ss’ and ‘Hard Ss’. It implies that a domino effect exists when changing one element in order to maintain an effective balance.
From the perspective of organisational transformation, it is worthwhile to consider if a predominantly internally focused methodology will meet the organisation’s needs.
Pros
- It helps in bringing the various departments and processes in sync with each other, especially when mergers or acquisition takes place.
- It provides a framework to analyse the effects of changing corporate culture, policies, strategies, structure, technology over the organisation.
- It is a broad approach since it inspects each of the seven elements and their correlation with each other.
Cons
- The methodology could be considered too internally focused, therefore not allowing for sufficient attention to be placed on external factors affecting the business during it’s transformation.
- It doesn’t provide a clear roadmap as practical support for the transformation process.
- It relies on long-term results to provide sufficient input for analysis and therefore may not be sufficiently agile in it’s approach.
Recommended resources:
Enduring Ideas: The 7S-Framework, McKinsey & Company
