Page 194 - DCOM506_DMGT502_STRATEGIC_MANAGEMENT

Strategic Management

Notes The 7-S framework was developed in 1970s by the well-known consultancy firm, the
Mc Kinsey Company of the United States. The 7-S framework is illustrated:

Structure

Strategy Systems

Shared
Values

Skills Style

Staff

The purpose of the model is to show the interrelationship between different elements of an
organisation, and the need to bring them together.

7-S Framework

This framework basically deals with organisational change. The main thrust of change is not
connected only with the organisation’s strategy. It has to be understood by the complex
relationships that exist between strategy, structure, systems, style, staff, skills and super-ordinate
goals. These are called the 7-S of the organisation.
The 7-S framework suggests that there are several factors that influence an organisation’s ability
to change. The variables involved are interconnected so that altering one element may well
impact other connected elements. Hence, significant changes cannot be achieved in any variable
without making changes in all the variables. There is no starting point or implied hierarchy in
the shape of the diagram, so it is not obvious which of the 7 factors would be the driving force
in changing a particular organisation at a particular point of time. All the elements are equally
important. The critical variables of change could be different across organisations. They could
also be different in the same organisation. Fundamentally, the framework makes the point that
effective strategy implementation is more than an individual subject, but is coupled with skills,
styles, structures, systems, staff and super-ordinate goals.
Super-ordinate Goals: “Super-ordinate goals” mean the “goals of a higher order which express
the values, vision and mission that senior management brings to the organisation”.
These can be considered as the fundamental ideas around which a business is built. Hence, they
represent the main values and aspirations of an organisation. They are the broad notions of
future direction. They can be considered to be equivalent to “organisational purposes”. For
example, the super-ordinate goal of IBM has been “customer service”, while that of Hewlett-
Packard was “innovative people at all levels in the organisation”. When properly articulated,
super-ordinate goals can provide a strong basis for organisation’s stability in a rapidly changing
environment by providing a basic meaning to people working for the organisation.

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