The 7 S Model of Organizational Alignment Paul Godfrey Marriott School of Management Winter 2010

The 7 S Model The 7 S model helps describe organizational reality A set of buckets to sort information The 7 S’s as a balloon Push on one side, the other sides all move The 7 S’s constitute a system Two components: The Hard Triangle: Strategy, Systems, Structure The Soft Square: Staffing, Skills, Style, Shared Values

Strategy StructureSystems Shared Values StaffingSkills Style The 7 S Model

Strategy Organizational Goals Competitive Advantages StructureSystems Division of Labor Reporting responsibilities Coordination Control Shared Values Common Belief Priorities StaffingSkills Hiring, Training, Promoting Technologies What we do well Style Interpersonal relationships

Strategy Full Service Regional Coverage Focused on Core Long Term View StructureSystems Decentralized Functional Expertise Geographic Focus Tight Cost Control Bonus Incentives Merit Promotion Shared Values Conservative Profitability Loyalty Decentralization Equity & Generosity StaffingSkills Hire good people MDP Promote from within Customer Service Cost Control Style Informal Friendly Practical The Positives

Strategy No focus on niches No operating synergies Few strategic assets StructureSystems Management by exception Functional Silos with little communication Excessive Internal Focus Little incentive pay Promotion on Seniority Shared Values Comfortable Complacency Excessive Frugality StaffingSkills Hire by W.O.M. Little Training Hard to Fire “We know what customers want” Reliance on traditional ways Style Non-confrontational Little Challenge & debate Slow to decide The Negatives

Expanding the 7 S Model Super-ordinate goals: What is the organization trying to accomplish? Situation/ Stakeholders: What is the overall environment the organization faces? Self: What is the role of the change agent in the model?

Situation/ Stakeholders Strategy StructureSystems Shared Values StaffingSkills Style The Expanded 7 S Model Super-ordinate Goals Self

Advantages of the expanded model Adding super-ordinate goals brings out more clarity –Strategic objectives (market share) vs. strategy tools (differentiation) –Goals as a reflection (manifestation) of shared values –Goals can shift, causing misalignment Adding the Situation/ Stakeholders “places” the organization –In both competitive space and time –Most misalignments begin with changes in this area and ripple through the system Adding the self focuses on the role of individuals to impact the system