Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2018

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Methodology

To investigate on SpaceX’s leadership and corporate culture, research was conducted through secondary sources which provide information of primary sources. These sources include news articles, web articles, case studies, interviews and books. Research was focused specifically through internal and external factors which contributes to SpaceX’s success A major source can be credited to the biography ‘Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future’ by Ashlee Vance, a business columnist and author. The book offered multiple perspectives of Elon Musk as an entrepreneur. Additionally, there is analysis between Tesla and SpaceX since Musk is the CEO of both companies Lastly, SpaceX was compared to other successful companies, Apple, and competitor United Launch Alliance. The leadership of Elon was also compared to Steve Jobs’. This was done to analyse the research Applied Theory The theories applied onto the following essay are predominantly from the Human Resources Unit of the Business and Management syllabus. Additional theories are from secondary sources. The essay explores into the organizational structure of SpaceX through the application of Henry Mintzberg’s theory, which identifies the central structure of a company. Mintzberg’s theory helps by breaking down the management roles which simplifies the more complex concepts. This provides a better understanding the corporate culture in SpaceX.