Communication Approaches of Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg
The dismissal of employees is always a delicate process, and the approach to this may differ. Many people working in the company do not want to part with their work, which is natural. For a deeper understanding of layoffs, one can refer to the recent dismissal of employees of Meta and Twitter. Thus, it will be possible to determine the approach of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk to this decision. Mark Zuckerberg refers to his decision to improve the company’s efficiency by reducing the team size by 13%, or more than 11000 employees, to be specific (Zuckerberg, 2022). To alert employees, Zuckerberg sent emails to employees in which, in a relatively mild tone, he told them about the following. I want to take accountability for these decisions, and how we got here, I know this is tough for everyone, and I am incredibly sorry to those impacted (Sopow, 2022). Zuckerberg does not make harsh remarks toward employees and apologizes to those affected, which shows his positive qualities as a manager.
The way Elon Musk informed his employees about the dismissal contrasts with Mark Zuckerberg’s message. Twitter workers learned their fate via an unsigned email sent after the workday. Others found out their jobs were being eliminated after they could not log on to their company email or messaging system (Sopow, 2022). This approach shows a certain degree of disrespect for the employees of the newly acquired company. Starting Thursday, everyone must be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week (Satariano et al., 2022). This is the following message addressed to employees, which was posted on Twitter in the public domain. Musk did not even bother apologizing to the fired employees or give a specific reason for this action, compared to Zuckerberg.
Management Approaches of Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are two world-famous leaders of some of the most advanced companies. Specific management approaches are required to manage such companies, as this is a huge responsibility (Schuler, 2015). Due to the constant and rapid changes in the economy and politics, management also needs to change. Changing something means doing something different than before; it is essential to calculate and explain why it is worth it (Sopow, 2022). In this case, it is again worth referring to the approaches of Musk and Zuckerberg in this matter.
Zuckerberg’s approach to management can be called democratic because he considers the opinions of his employees. Employees at Meta think creatively and do things outside the confines of bureaucracy in other companies, which motivates employees also; he engages with the employees regularly and effectively on the projects and gives them direct feedback (Haupt, 2021). This type of management is effective, as it considers the opinions and desires of employees, thereby allowing one to create more acceptable working conditions.
The CEO and co-founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, has been admired globally for his leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Musk is an effectual sequential entrepreneur having good standing as a creative mastermind, his roles as CEO and Product Engineer have been exemplary behind the rapid growth of Tesla (Khan, 2021). Musk can be considered a good leader, but it is worth noting that he pays a lot to his personality in his management. Usually, management is an ecosystem in which employees interact with each other, but in this case, when everything revolves around one person, this can be called an ecosystem (Sopow, 2022). Although both approaches to management can be practical, Zuckerberg’s approach seems more acceptable and favorable for employees.
References
Haupt, J. (2021). Facebook futures: Mark Zuckerberg’s discursive construction of a better world. New Media & Society, 23(2), 237–257. Web.
Khan, M. R. (2021). A critical analysis of Elon Musk’s leadership in Tesla Motors. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, pp. 1–10. Web.
Satariano, A., Mac, R., & Hsu, T. (2022). Elon Musk puts his politics on display on Election Day. The New York Times. Web.
Schuler, R. S. (2015). The 5-C framework for managing talent. Organizational Dynamics, 44(1), 47-56. Web.
Sopow, E. (2022). Living Change. Workbook. University Canada West UP.
Yainey, R. H. (2018). Leadership development: a study of Elon Musk. Marriott Student Review, 2(2), 4. Web.
Zuckerberg, M. (2022). Mark Zuckerberg’s Message to Meta Employees. Zuckerberg Transcripts. 1623. Web.