Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2018

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Impacts of SpaceX’s Leadership and Culture

Technology giant, Apple, is often seen as the epitome in product innovation. For many years, Apple has been recognised as the world’s most valuable company, and recently it had become the first company to reach the $1 trillion valuation mark 27 . The company was once been led by CEO Steve Jobs, whom had revolutionized computers and mobile devices. Job’s created an image and reputation for Apple. For consumers, engaging with Apple products is commonly described as utopic. Despite Apple being a mass marketed company, SpaceX and Apple, both have similarities and differences when it comes to management and leadership. Thus, a comparison is made between the two company’s leadership and corporate culture.

One of the key aspects both companies possess is their ability to focus on innovation. They are both product-orientated companies and innovation is key to creating unique products. Apple was once the leader in the mobile and computers market because their products uniqueness was years ahead of their competitors. In-fact most of their products were considered as a ‘cash cows’ on the BCG Matrix 28 . Despite both companies being successful, the central comparison is whether Apple or SpaceX has a better management and leadership.

Fig. 7 BCG Matrix Image Source: https://slidemodel.com/templates/b oston-consulting-group-matrix- template-powerpoint/

27 "Apple Becomes First Company to Hit $1 Trillion", Newscomau, Last modified 2018, https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/technology/apple-becomes-first-company-to-hit-1-trillion/news- story/174225eee7af914274b0923578e7aa1e. Web. 8 August. 28 Loykie Lominé, Martin Mwenda Muchena and Robert A Pierce, Business Management , 1st ed. repr., Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2014.