Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2018

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We can refer this style as the “Produce or Perish” on the Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid. Using punishment as a way of motivating employees to achieve results is a sign of low concern towards people. This type of leadership is harsh, and the manner of his actions can be highly criticized. If engineers believe that his decisions are impossible, then employees may feel undervalued and unmotivated, which results into a high labour turnover rate. This also affects the overall morality and motivation in the corporate culture’s 17 .

However, motivation levels are high at SpaceX, meaning there must be other influencers within the organisation who contributes to SpaceX’s success. Otherwise, most employees would feel undervalued and unmotivated. In fact, Musk is perceived to be more of a marketing figure. He’s on the news daily. This explains why there is an exaggerated assumption that Musk is the entire force behind SpaceX.

Fig. 3 Blake & Mouton Managerial Grid Image Source: http://www.faithtechnologies.com/ blog/blog_entries/part-2-the- managerial-grids-five-leadership- styles/

17 "The Blake Mouton Managerial Gridleading People And Producing Results", Mindtools.Com, Last modified 2018, https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_73.htm. Web. 3 June