Topic #4: Model “7S”

McKinsey 7s Model is one of the comprehensive approach used in the implementation of the strategy. It
was developed by Peterson & Waterman at McKinsey & Company in the early 80’s. The model is based
on seven internal company factors that must be aligned together for successful implementation of the
strategy in the company.

The Model 7S” can be used in a wide variety of situations where an alignment perspective is useful
(mindtools.com):

• Improve the performance of a company.

• Examine the likely effects of future changes within a company.
• Align departments and processes during a merger or acquisition.
• Determine how best to implement a proposed strategy.
Factors of 7s:

In McKinsey model, the seven areas of organization are divided into the ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ areas. Strategy,
structure and systems are hard elements, while shared values, style, staff, and skills are soft elements.

The three hard elements of the model are (Mallya, 2007):

• Strategy – express how the company achieves its vision and how responds to opportunities and
threats from environment, means awareness of the strategy, its explanation to external subjects not
only to internal,

• Structure – the way how the company is structured, inferiority and superiority relations, organizational
structure supports the implementation of the strategy,

• Systems – formal and informal everyday activities and procedures carried out by employees, it is about
systems of planning, control and information that support the implementation of the strategy.

On the other hand soft elements of the model are more difficult to define, they are less specific and
influenced by company´s culture. Despite the soft elements are as important as hard if the company
wants to achieve success. Soft elements of the model are (Papula & Papulová, 2012):

• Style – style of leadership and choice of the appropriate style of leadership of the company
belong to important factors affecting the implementation of the strategy,

• Staff – employees and their basic skills are key factors of the success, companies should have right
people on the right place,

• Skills – actual skills and abilities of company´s employees, companies should focus on the development
of the skills in the future, extension of knowledge and acquisition of experiences,
• Shared values – values enforced in the strategy are based on shared interests and are included in the
mission of the company, they are a key element that influences the effectiveness of all other factors, it is
an important feature of company´s culture that supports the creation and implementation of the
strategy Model 7S” represents a model that can be applied in any company and if something does not
work in the company probably is there a conflict between some elements listed in the model.

Application of framework:

As we pointed out earlier, the McKinsey 7s framework is often used when organizational design and
effectiveness are at question. It is easy to understand the model but much harder to apply it for your
organization due to a common misunderstanding of what should a well-aligned element be like.

We provide the following steps that should help you to apply this tool:

Step 1. Identify the areas that are not effectively aligned

Perform a business process analysis to identify the gaps and inconsistencies in your organization’s
existing business processes and list out the unaligned areas, as well as what needs to change to restore
the effective balance.

Step 2. Determine the optimal organization design

With the help from top management, your second step is to find out what effective organizational
design you want to achieve. By knowing the desired alignment, you can set your goals and make the
action plans much easier. This step is not as straightforward as identifying how seven areas are currently
aligned in your organization for a few reasons. First, you need to find the best optimal alignment, which
is not known to you at the moment, so it requires more than answering the questions or collecting data.
Second, there are no templates or predetermined organizational designs that you could use and you’ll
have to do a lot of research or benchmarking to find out how other similar organizations coped with
organizational change or what organizational designs they are using.

Step 3. Decide where and what changes should be made

This is basically your action plan, which will detail the areas you want to realign and how would you like
to do that. If you find that your firm’s structure and management style are not aligned with company’s
values, you should decide how to reorganize the reporting relationships and which top managers should
the company let go or how to influence them to change their management style so the company could
work more effectively.

Step 4. Make the necessary changes

The implementation is the most important stage in any process, change or analysis and only the well-
implemented changes have positive effects. Therefore, you should find the people in your company or
hire consultants that are the best suited to implement the changes.

Step 5. Continuously review the 7s

The seven elements: strategy, structure, systems, skills, staff, style and values are dynamic and change
constantly. A change in one element always has effects on the other elements and requires
implementing new organizational design. Thus, continuous review of each area is very important.

Example of the McKinsey 7s Model in Action:

McDonald’s

Here’s how the fast-food giant leverages McKinsey’s 7-S model for driving organizational change:

Strategy: McDonald’s gained a significant market share through its cost-leadership approach.
Additionally, it sets clear SMART goals to achieve the long-term and short-term vision.

Structure: Unlike other multinational coporations (MNCs) with complex hierarchical structures,
McDonald’s has a flat structure where a store manager manages its employees. Employees work as a
close-knit team and have easy access to the senior management if required.

Systems: McDonald’s is known for constantly innovating to reduce the wait time and make its entire
production and supply chain more efficient – such as its new McDonalds app and self-ordering kiosks.

Shared Values: McDonald’s aims to have a high level of integrity, serve a wide range of customers, hire
employees from different backgrounds, encourage teamwork, and finally, give some profits back to the
community with its core values: Serve, Inclusion, Integrity, Community, and Family.

Style: McDonald’s leverages a participative leadership style where seniors engage with employees at
different levels to seek their feedback to improve operations and resolve conflicts.

Staff: With over 210,000 employees, McDonald’s is one of the largest employers in the world. It believes
in the concept of diversity and works towards employee satisfaction.

Skills: McDonald’s regularly trains its employees to provide an unparalleled customer experience and
handle objections.