What is McKinsey 7S Framework?

Despite initially being developed in the early 1980s, the McKinsey 7S Framework model of business organisation is one that has stood the test of time and is just as relevant today as it was three decades ago. Named after the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, the theory was created by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman and works on the assumption that every firm consists of seven internal characteristics, and these should all be working together to ensure the enterprise operates efficiently. These seven components are:

• Strategy
• Structure
• Systems
• Skills
• Style
• Staff
• Shared values

The aspects are then split into two types – hard elements and soft elements – which defines how easily it is for management to influence or how susceptible the component is to the effect of culture. Strategy, structure and style are considered to be the hard elements, while the remaining parts are soft. However, the names of these two groups does not indicate whether one set is more important than the other – they are all equally critical when it comes to achieving business efficiency. But now that these areas have been identified, what do we do with them? In a nutshell, the framework can be used as a kind of checklist, with executives using the seven components to determine where potential inconsistencies may exist across the whole of the business when they are trying to implement a new process or take their organisation in a new direction. Using this information, they should be able to fine-tune a plan that will allow them to move their operation in the desired direction with as little resistance as possible. Obviously, there is much more to the framework than this, but hopefully it serves as an introduction to the wider principle that is McKinsey 7S. If it is something you feel as though you could benefit from learning more about, why not check out which of our relevant courses are available? [block id=”1068″]