Mckinsey 7S model

While some models of organizational effectiveness go in and out of fashion, one that has persisted is the McKinsey 7S framework. Developed in the early 1980s by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, two consultants working at the McKinsey & Company consulting firm, the basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organization that need to be aligned if it is to be successful.

The 7S model can be used in a wide variety of situations where an alignment perspective is useful, for example to help you:

• Improve the performance of a company.
• Examine the likely effects of future changes within a company.
• Align departments and processes during a merger or acquisition.
• Determine how best to implement a proposed strategy.

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Why Excellence?

Excellence is an attribute on which organisations survive. A building block for them to flourish and become even more bigger and prosperous. Their success depends on excellence to a profound extent. Which is why great CEOs like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Henry Ford et al have all harped on the salient features of excellence within their organisation to make them worthy institutions that they are today. Without the pursuit of excellence, these organisations would have died a slow death.

Quantify Excellence

Excellence when defined is a non-parametric quantity and hence, often can be interpreted in incorrect means whereby it gives a false picture of whether it is actually achieved or not. However to set clear targets and understand the scenario, we quantify excellence in the following manner:

Excellence = Efficiency * Effectiveness

i.e. a combination of efficiency and effectiveness together gives rise to excellence. Efficiency essentially being "doing things right" and effectiveness being "doing the right thing". Every organisation in due course needs to figure out the effective approach towards accomplishing something. Doing the right thing is important so that ventures and strides are taken in the right direction. Once the effectiveness is taken care of, organisations should then concentrate on efficiency. This is where many establishments differentiate between one another. It refers to an input-output approach whereby depending on the availability of resources and inputs, management will then give the output, dealing with all kinds of optimisation methods in the process.

Tower Building Exercise - Lessons in Excellence

The tower building exercise as shown here is one of the best ways of exhibiting efficiency, effectiveness and ultimately excellence. The individual prior to performing the task figured out a way to complete the task. for e.g putting the blocks slightly to the top left or top right of the below block and not exactly on top, putting that at angles to the below and not completely on top of it. These are ways of accomplishing a effective way of performing the task. This part helps him to do the task better as probably putting them in a certain manner over the other can enhance the output and provide an effective solution to the same. The second part is exhibited in the manner he performs the task. The rate at which he does it, the height which he reaches all on the basis of certain rules will eventually help him achieve the desired level of efficiency. As discussed above, these two factors together will contribute towards excellence.

In a similar manner, in large organisations, managers are always encouraged to follow the above principles to achieve excellence. In my personal experience, I have seen some of my superiors who have always designed goals and tasks in such a way that they understand what needs to be done and then chalk out a way to do the right thing in order to reach the end goal. This is followed by careful analysis of improving the efficiency of the task, i.e utilising the available resources and in the shortest time and at the least possible cost, make the perfect product. Thus, in this manner, the employees and the process that they follow itself lends to the excellence of the organisation as a whole.

Risk management: Three people crossing the valley

“The bridges that you cross before you come to them are over rivers that aren't there.”

-          Gene Brown

The above quote roughly means:  barriers that are physical are reflections of the mental ones. There is an important organizational lesson to be learnt in this. Organizations are meant to facilitate the impossible, unachievable. The recipe is simple: Believe that it can be achieved, plan and deliver.

Objective

Here are three men walking but are stalled because infront of them lay a valley which they have to cross.

Problem:

1. The width of the gap between the valleys is more than a step so they canot jump over it but less than two steps.

2. There is no temporary bridge available i.e no falt platform which they can lay over the gap and walk over.

Solution:

They hold the rod together with the gap between each two of them is one footstep and they simply walk by.  The picture below demonstrates it. Surprised? Does going get this easy? Well, I shall take you through a small dry run to answer that:

Solution:

They hold the rod together with the gap between each two of them is one footstep and they simply walk by.  The picture below demonstrates it. Surprised? Does going get this easy? Well, I shall take you through a small dry run to answer that:

L1     L2     L3_______                                         Step 1: All safe

R1     R2    R3

         L1     L2     L3                                              Step 2: Person 3 half safe

R1    R2     R3

         L1     L2     L3                                              Step 3: Person 3 full unsafe

         R1     R2     R3

                   L1     L2    L3                                     Step 4: Person 2 and 3 partially safe

         R1     R2     R3

                   L1     L2    L3                                     Step 5: Person 2 fully unsafe

                   R1     R2    R3

                             L1    L2    L3                            Step 6: Person 1 and 2 partially safe

                   R1     R2    R3

                             L1    L2    L3                            Step 7: Person 1 fully unsafe

                             R1    R2   R3

                                      L1    L2    L3                   Step 8: Person 1 partially safe

                             R1    R2    R3

                                      L1    L2    L3                   Step 9: Everyone is safe

                                      R1    R2   R3

The '_______' like structure indicates the valley and Li and Ri denotes the left and right foot of the ith person.

Structuring of Task Roles:

Tasks should have certain attributes for perfect realisation of a task, which can be stated as:

1.Interlocking roles i.e. highest level of interdependency
2.Highest level of interactions among the members
3.Instantaneous feedback
4,No scope for any Social loafing

The task here is highly interdependent and provides instantenous feedback upon any mishap.

Team Excellence: 

Excellence is efficiency * effectiveness. Individual cannot achieve excellence but a team an organisation can achieve that. Efficiency and effectiveness both comes simultaneously and has to be handled simultaneously. Effectiveness is where to go? and efficiency is how to go efficiently i.e at reduced cost or enhanced safety. But to put effect efficiency one has to again think efficiently.