Essay Sample on Space X: Creative Problem-Solving & Observable Artefacts

Introduction

Reviews from former employees at Space X indicate that the company has an organic structure and not a mechanist structure. This is because most employees are allowed to participate in decision making and the CEO himself, Elon Musk agrees with creative ideas that solve problems. Space X has some overt and obvious elements known as observable artefacts. Some of them include; inside jokes such as "what are you, working part-time?" whenever another employee is seen leaving at around 7 which is 'early' to others or found to have put in 50 - 60 hours a week (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2015). The phrase "you are your slave driver" is thrown around a lot since most employees are self-managed thus barely need close supervision. There is also free food offered all the time; free coffee, dinner, froyo, an in-office masseuse and even free goodies during monthly celebrations.

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The cameras installed at every corner of the factory floor are also artefacts in Space X's culture. The employees are encouraged to explore and can watch camera feeds from their desks of the factory floor. The observable artefacts at Space X lead to many conclusions about the company. One could assume that the employees at the company usually are passionate about their work since most of them are seen as self-managed thus less supervision. This is from the phrases that they throw around to encourage each other. The employees could also be having fun at work since they are provided for free food to avoid distraction (Korner, Wirtz, Bengel & Goritz, 2015). Another assumption is that the nature of work put in, probably leaves most workers with no choice but to give all their time to the company thus requires a person that could balance the few hours of personal time with the many hours of work.

There are four types of organizational culture namely; clan, adhocracy, market and hierarchy. The adhocracy type of culture best describes Space X since it is all centered along with entrepreneurship and being dynamic while focusing on taking risks, doing things first and innovation. From the various reviews done by people that have worked at Space X, Elon Musk allows all employees to participate in decision making and coming up with creative ideas that solve problems (Muegge & Reid, 2019). Elon's goal is finding a way that human beings could access planet mars and probably make it habitable, thus he always hires innovative scientists that could find a way and be the first time in memorial to launch something like that. His thirst for innovation drives him to even sleeping on the factory floor just to get things done.

Various sources have depicted Space X as a nice place to work since most of the individuals that used to work there give positive reviews. Given that most of the employees are self-managed, it allows some of them to work even in absentia just as long as the work is delivered as expected. However, most of the employees there love their work thus choose to work long hours even without realizing it. The best part about that is the fact that there is an in-office masseuse since the working hours can be long and one needs to relax and recharge to be consistent, efficient and effective in their work. I would want to work there when I'm still young and energetic since the organizational culture is fair to all employees. However, for a person that values family time and other social factors, this may be a bit hard to adapt to this need for one to understand themselves first before applying for a job opportunity there.

References

Alvesson, M., & Sveningsson, S. (2015). Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress. Routledge.

Korner, M., Wirtz, M. A., Bengel, J., & Goritz, A. S. (2015). Relationship of organizational culture, teamwork and job satisfaction in interprofessional teams. BMC health services research, 15(1), 243.

Muegge, S., & Reid, E. (2019). Elon Musk and SpaceX: A Case Study of Entrepreneuring as Emancipation. Technology Innovation Management Review, 9(8).