The 7s Model in Theory Essay Example for Free

The 7s Model in Theory Essay The 7s Model was introduced for the first time in 1981, by Richard Pascale and Anthony Athos. McKinsey, an American consultancy bureau, adopted the model, used it frequently and made it one of the best-known management models in the world. The 7s Model stands for seven aspects where an organization should pay attention to, in order to function successfully: Staff, Style, Structure, System, Strategy, Skills and Shared Values. These 7 aspects have to support and reinforce each other to achieve the goals of an organization. The 7s model is easy to remember and it seems to cover al the aspects of management. But is this model so great? Does it indeed cover all the aspects of management? No. For one thing, it excludes a lot of important factors that also should be integrated in a management model, for example flexibility, quality and efficiency of an organization. That these terms do not begin with an S does not mean that they do not have to be included in a management model. Because of this the 7s model is incomplete. Secondly, the 7s model was a fashion model. The model had a nice English title, was visual attractive, it was presented with confidence. Guaranteed success in America! Also, the founders of the 7s Model were leading business men and very confident about their invented model. Because of their reputation as good managers, people assumed that the model would be good and did not investigate the usefulness of the model in real life. In third place, the 7s Model is confusing. Take for example the norms and values (culture) of an organization. These aspects can be found within the S of Staff, but they could also be a part of the S from Shared Values. The 7ses overlap with each other, this makes it an unclear model. Fourthly, The 7s Model has aged. The science of management is still developing, new models are discovered everyday and old models are changed frequently. The 7s model is not an exception. The 7s Model is used and it is not found perfect, so they should change it and ad the new inventions that are found in 2010. The 7s Model is only a theoretical model and cannot be used in real life. Also because the 7s Model was first created and then used in reality. The model was developed behind ‘desks in an office’ and then applied in practice, so there is a discrepancy between theory and practice. When the Model was just integrated in the management world a lot of small companies worked according to it, but went bankrupted within one year. After the above analysis it is justified to say that the 7s model is not valid and that management is a science which is still in it’s infancy. This model needs to be renewed and modernized and it lacks a lot of important aspects, which should be taken into consideration when leading an organization. It is easy to make a simple, nice model that sounds catchy, but to make it work and useful in practice is something else. The success of this 7s Model is based on the persuasive way it was brought by its inventors. The model is unclear and has to be clarified. The founders have thought it trough on paper, but did not do enough research what would happen if it was used in the real management of an organization. In the end, the 7s Model of McKinsey is good on paper, but is real life it is not useful to organizations in the long run.