The 7-S Framework

 

In the late 1970s, management consultants Robert H. Waterman, Jr., Thomans J. Peters, and Julien R. Phillips created the 7-S framework, a management and organizational paradigm. The productive organization change is not simply a matter of structure, although structure is important. Although strategy is critical too, it is not so simple as the interaction between strategy and structure. Our claim is that effective organizational change is really the relationship between structure, strategy, system style, skills, staff, and shared value. The 7-S model is designed to help organizations to analyze and improve their performance by considering seven interrelated elements that collectively shape the organization's strategy and structure. These seven elements all start with the letter "S," making it easy to remember.

The 7-S framework consists of the following elements which are:

Structure, Strategy, System, Style, Staff, Skills, and Shared value.

Structure:

Structure refers to the way the organization is organized and how its various units or departments are arranged. This includes the hierarchy, reporting relationships, and the allocation of responsibilities.

Strategy:

Strategy means those action that company plans in response to or anticipation of change in its external environment-its customers, its competitors. This is the way a company aims to improve its position-perhaps through low-cost production or delivery, perhaps by providing better value to the customer, perhaps by achieving sales and service dominance. The organization's plan for accomplishing its goals and objectives is called its strategy. It contains the mission, vision, and strategic goals of the business. Strategy is clearly a critical variable in organization design.            

Systems:

Systems refer to all of the official and informal processes and procedures set up to support the operations of the organization. These include capital budgeting system, training system, cost accounting procedures, information systems, decision-making processes, and other formal processes.

Style:

Style refers to the management and leadership style of the organization. It includes the leadership approach, management behavior, and the leadership philosophy that influences the organization's culture. Another aspect of style is symbolic behavior.

Staff:

Staff involves the people in the organization, their skills, capabilities, and competencies. Staff is often treated in one of two ways. At the hard end of the spectrum include appraisal system, pay scales, formal training programs, At the soft end it includes about morale, attitude, motivation and behavior. It also includes recruitment and development of employees.

Skills:

Skills indicate the individual and collective organization's employees’ competencies and capabilities. It consists technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and other skills required to perform the organization's tasks effectively.

Shared Values:

Shared values are the organization core values and beliefs that are held by its members. These values define the organization culture. It also guides decision-making and behavior.

Conclusion:

The 7-S framework emphasizes that all these elements are interconnected and must be aligned to achieve organizational success. Changes in one element may require adjustments in others to maintain alignment. The 7-S framework is particularly useful for analyzing organizational problems and diagnosing areas of improvement. It also ensuring that changes are made in a coordinated manner.

It is important to note that the 7-S framework has been widely used and adapted in various forms. It is suiting different organizational contexts and management needs. It can be a useful tool for performance enhancement, organizational change, and strategic planning

More importantly, it suggests the wisdom of talking seriously the variables in organizing that have been considered soft, informal, or beneath the purview of top management interest. It is believed that style, system, skill, shared value can be observed directly, even measured. These variables are at least as important as strategy and structure.

The framework forces us to concentrate on interactions and fit. The real energy required to redirect an institution comes when all the variables in the model are aligned. One of our associates looks at our diagram as a set of compasses. “When all seven needles are all pointed the same way,” “You are looking at an organized company”

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