by Héctor R. Torres, BA, CPP, CFE
A warm greeting from Puerto Rico for all and a very special greeting to my colleagues Walter Juan Ramos and Andrés Diaz Ñungo whom I had the privilege of meeting recently through this column.
In our latest edition, we talked about the topic of leadership, its evolution in the military sciences, and the transformational leadership model. We also point out the importance of leadership as a catalytic agent to achieve added value in a managerial function. But we are left with the question of how can we create added value in the managerial function of corporate security in terms of strategies. structure and systems?
An innovative way to determine how added value is created is through the use of management classes that study efficiency in organizations. A management model used for these purposes is the McKinsey 7-S, which was developed in 1980 by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman when they worked at McKinsey and Company. The McKinsey 7-S model is based on the premise that an organization is not just a structure but is made up of seven different elements: strategy, structure, systems, leadership style, senior staff, skills and shared values, which are subdivided into strong elements and soft elements.
In this article we will discuss the strong elements of the model which include strategy, structure and systems. The strategy deals with the positioning and use of resources to achieve the objectives of the organization; the structure points to the way in which an organizational unit relates to the other units of the institution and finally, systems refers to the formal and informal processes, procedures and routines that characterize the performance of important work in the entity. Strong elements are the easiest elements to identify in an organization and can be used to determine how added value is created in a managerial function.
We had previously defined the creation of added value in a managerial function as those actions that improve organizational efficiency, contribute to profit growth or develop a competitive advantage for the organization. To determine how added value is created in the managerial function of corporate security, the strong elements of the model would be combined with the elements of our definition to develop a study methodology, which could be used as a vehicle for formal academic study or simply to determine how we can create additional value from a managerial perspective. As part of the study methodology the following questions would be asked:
In terms of Strategies:
a. What corporate security strategies contribute to developing efficiency in the organization?
b. What corporate security strategies contribute to increased profits in the organization?
c. What corporate security strategies contribute to developing a competitive advantage for the organization?
In terms of Structure:
a. What structure of corporate security contributes to developing efficiency in the organization?
b. What corporate security structure contributes to increased profits in the organization?
c. What structure of security contributes to developing a competitive advantage for the organization?In terms of Systems:
a. Which corporate security systems contribute to developing efficiency in the organization?
b. Which corporate security systems contribute to increased profits in the organization?
c. Which corporate security systems contribute to developing a competitive advantage for the organization?
The main purpose of this study methodology would be to identify the specific actions that create added value in corporate security in terms of the strong elements of the McKinsey 7-S model. the result can provide a new paradigm for carrying out the managerial function of corporate security in organizations facing the challenges of competing in the global marketplace. This new paradigm could, in turn, enhance the role of corporate security as a managerial function to the point of making it a strategic resource. The only thing that would be missing would be those professionals who are bold and willing to implement this new paradigm. The challenge for our profession is launched and we have to accept the challenge of creating added value in corporate security.
In the next column we will talk about organizational change which will definitely be another challenge that we are all going to face in the future. I invite you to continue to share your ideas and concerns of the world and security management.
* You can write to the author at the following email: [email protected] .
