McKinsey 7S Change Model
McKinsey 7S model was developed by Robert Waterman and Tom Peters during early 1980s by the two consultants McKinsey Consulting organization. The model is a powerful tool for assessing and analyzing the changes in the internal situation of an organization.
It is based on 7 key elements, which determine the organizations success, which should be interdependent and aligned for producing synergistic outcomes. The model can be used widely in various situations where an alignment is required:
The McKinsey 7 S model refers to the seven key interrelated or integrated elements of an organization which are subdivided into hard and soft elements:
The Hard elements are within the direct control of the management as it can be easily defined and identified. The following elements are the hard elements in an organization.
The Soft elements are less tangible and are difficult to be defined and identified as such elements are more governed by the culture. But according to the proponents of this model, these soft elements are equally important as the hard elements in determining an organizations success as well as growth in the industry. The following elements are the soft elements in an organization:

McKinsey 7S Model
As per the above diagram, the shared values in the center of the model influence all the other elements of the model which are interconnected and interrelated. The rest other elements originate from the very reason for the existence of the organization which is the vision which is formed by the creators of the values in an organization. If the values change, the rest other parameters equally undergo a change.
The 7S model identifies the inconsistencies or gaps between various elements and provides a strategic plan of action for reaching from the current state to the desired organizational state. The alignment between each element can be checked by paying attention to the following steps:
According to Waterman and Peters, this model can be used by following five steps: The first step involves identification of those elements of the framework which do not align properly. It equally involves assessing the inconsistencies in the relationships between all the elements. The second step is concerned with the organizational design optimally and this optimal fit will be different for different organizations. The third step involves deciding the course of actions or the changes which are required to be implemented. The fourth step is the actual implementation of the change and the final stage or the fifth stage is the final review of the 7S framework.
Limitations of 7S Model
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