Ethical Challenges Faced by Uber in Using App-based Peer-to-sharing Technology
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This report discusses the ethical challenges faced by Uber in using app-based peer-to-sharing technology and the risks the company needs to overcome to be successful.
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Running Head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 0 Running Head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility “Uber Hits a Bump in the Road” SystemJP 5/28/2019 The report is prepared so that ethical decision taken by the company Uber can be explained. In the working organization of Uber there were many implications and the legal issues which were addressed such as the drivers are not licensed, they were not putting major focus on the safety measures of the customers, they were also charging higher prices when the demand is high and the supply is lower. So these were some ethical issues which were solved by adopting the rules and regulation governs by the government. These issues can be overcome when the company will comply with the
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Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 1 statutory requirements and follow the rules and principles which are govern by the government.
Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 2 Contents Introduction.............................................................................3 What are the ethical challenges that Uber faces in using app-based peer-to-sharing technology?................................4 Since Uber is using a disruptive business model and marketing strategy, what are the risks that the company will have to overcome to be successful?.....................................6 Because Uber is so popular and the business model is being expanded to other industries, should there be regulation to develop compliance with standards to protect competitors and consumers?.....................................................................9 Conclusion...........................................................................11 References...........................................................................12
Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 3 Introduction Uber Technologies Inc. is the transportation company which offers the services of the peer to peer ride sharing. The company was founded in the 2009 March, 10 years ago. The founderofthecompanywastheGarrettCampTravis Kalanick. The company was operating its services in the 785 metropolitan areas. The company has the headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company has more than 110 million worldwide users. The pricing system for the riding with Uber is dynamic as it was based on the supply and demand of the ride. The drivers of the Uber use their own car and some drivers also taken the rent, lease so that to offer the services(Fleetwood, 2017). Inaveryshortperiodoftime,theUberbecomesvery famous and the demand of the customers for booking the ride is increasing. But later on, the company continues to thrive. Uber hits the few bumps in the road by charging higher prices than the expected rate. As the other taxi were charging higher than the Uber earlier so many customers has grabbed with the Uber(Sampson and Makela, 2014). But when the success has created in a very short period of timethenmanychallengeshavetobefacedbythe company. They were doing the unethical things and were not followingtherulesandregulationformulatedbythe government of the country. There were many lawsuits also which has been faced by the Uber. One of the major issues faced by the Uber was that their drivers are not licensed so the legal action is taken against the company. Not only license but also they were not concentrating on any safety of the customers and the drivers so these issues lead to the major problem for the Uber. In this report, these issues were stated and the marketing strategy to overcome with this is also stated(Bales and Woo, 2016).
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Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 4 What are the ethical challenges that Uber faces in using app-based peer-to-sharing technology? There are many ethical challenges which the Uber faces and also has the serious ethical implication on the drivers. The app of the Uber has forced the employees to do the work even when they have reached the desired results. As there is no proper work and the life balance so the Job of the Uber doesn’t fit many employees and it is not suitable to work at that place(Watanabe, et al., 2017).The Uber doesn’t give any appropriate place of working to the employees of their company which results in losing their interest. Uber doesn’t have any commitments with any employees and they don’t even offer the good or the conductive working place. The drivers of the Uber are not their employee’s built they are the independent contractors or the ideal partners. The driver of theUberisonlyhiredwhentheysignupwiththe requirements or the demands made by the company. The drivers have to fulfill the demand before entering into the contracts so that they can work with the Uber. The training is also given to the driver of the Uber on the basis of that you are the partner and this is what is expected you. The Uber drivers are not the full-time employees so they are appointed forthetimewhenthecustomersbookthecab(Gilson, 2014). In a very short period of time, the Uber has become very famous and successful. Nowadays people used mobile apps and theupdatedtechnologies to book anything such as whenever anything has to book the digital services are used. Such as in booking the hotel, food, shopping the digital devices is used(Liechtung, 2018).Just like that only Uber hasprovidedthefacilityofbookingthecabssothat whenever any customers want to book the can for going anywheretheycanusethisfacility.Domeofthemajor ethical problems in the Uber are stated below:
Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 5 As per the business practice the Uber has to follow the rules which are governed by the government of the country but as per the Uber, the company has created its win rules and regulations(Royakkers, et al., 2018).Uber doesn’t care about the rules made by the government of the country they always do the business in the unethical and the unfair way(Ferrell, et al., 2019). Therearemanydriversinthecountrywhichare professional in driving, so Uber has taken them which were creating the problem for the country. Nowadays noexperienceddriversareleftwheneverneeded (Javed, et al., 2018).Not only about the experienced butalsothesedriverspaythetaxestothe government but now when they are taken away by the Uber they were not even paying the taxes. Uberchargeshighercostwhenthereishigher demandandemergencysituationraisesinthe country(McNamara, et al., 2018).As when there is some natural calamity occurs or when there is the wedding season the demand for the Uber drivers are much higher so they increase the fares at that time. It is unethical for the company as to charge the higher prices at the demands are not as per the rules. Theotherprofessionaldriverspaythetaxtothe government but in case of the Uber, the driver doesn’t pay the tax which is unethical and also the Uber is not following the rules of the government. Another unethical work which the company was doing is that they were exposing the consumers to risk like accidents, personal safety, etc. Uber doesn’t give any kind of the safety measures to any customers which is unethical as being the good company Uber has to safety measures to his daily customers. The profits achieved by the drivers of the Uber are higher as they don’t have to pay any kind of the taxes
Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 6 andUberalsodoesn'tprovidethemthetraining, insurance, car, etc. which increases their profit(Chen, et al., 2013). So there were many ethical challenges which the Uber faced with its self-driving technology with alleged trade secret and patent violations. Uber has faced many unethical challenges in the form of social, ethical, legal and regulatory obstacles. The other taxi companies have to take the license before driving but in the case of the Uber, they don’t have to take the license(Eisenstadt and Geddes, 2018).So the biggest issue which the Uber faces were lack of adequate insurance coverage and the protection of the customers as the drivers are not licensed. Since Uber is using a disruptive business model and marketing strategy, what are the risks that the company will have to overcome to be successful? There are many challenges and the risk which the Uber has to face so by making the proper strategy the company will overcome with that. So the risk from which the company has to overcome is stated below: Drivers:The number of drivers is increasing by the Uber which was one of the risky steps taken by the company. When the number of drivers will increase than the number of customers will decrease as the number of accessing the customers will reduce by increasing the drivers(Strech, et al., 2013).It will also impact on the money earned by the drivers. The drivers will get frustrated when they will be earning less money so it is risky to increase the number of drivers. So to overcome this problem the company can find the accurate number of the drivers so that the drivers don’t face the problem of high earning.
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Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 7 Fares:The fares of the Uber are very convenient for all the customers. As every class can easily afford the fair price of the Uber as it is convenient and easy to operate. The fare price of the Uber is less than the taxi price so many people can easily afford it. But if the company increases its prices at a high rate then it can cause a serious problem as many customers will choose the other taxi rides instead of the Uber(Heimans and Timms, 2014).So this can be a risky thing for the company so it is suggested that the company Uber should charge the prices which are affordable by the customersandarerelevantformakingtheprofitinthe company. Surge pricing:Surge Pricing is the pricing in which when the demand of the customers are higher for riding then the prices are charged high. When the demands are excessive high then more drivers are demanded and when the drivers are not enough then prices are charged high(Heimans and Timms, 2014).When fares are charged above the normal faresthenitbecomesriskyforthecompanyasthe increasing price can losses the regular customers. In surging pricing, the prices are charged at the double or at the triple rates. So to overcome this risk the company should charge the fixed fare instead of how much demand is there in the market. Competitors:Uber has many competitors in the market which are causing risk for the company as the profit of the company get affected due to the increase in the competition. There are many companies who are dealing in the same services such as Ola, Grab, Lyft, Curb, Didi Chuxing, etc. (Crespo, 2016).The Uber is the ride-sharing company while its competitors also give the services in the same way. So it becomes very challenging for the company to compete them so the Uber charges the prices reasonable as a comparison to the other competitors otherwise it becomes very risky for the company to compete in the competitive market.
Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 8 Taxes:The biggest challenging thing which the Uber faces were the problem of the taxes. The drivers of the Uber are not liable for paying any tax but the company is liable for paying the tax. All the revenue payment from the ride is the subject of the tax for both state tax and the city tax which becomes very risky for the company to pay. So to overcome with this the company has filed the complaint about the burden of the tax liability should become on the drivers. Lack of professional drivers:If the company Uber will appointsomedriverswhodon'thaveanyprofessional experience that it can create a major risk for the company. As the experienced drivers only know how to drive properly sotheycanprotectthecustomerswiththeproperride (Dudley, et al., 2017).But if the inexperienced drivers are appointed than it can create the risk for the company and also cause the major risk for the company. The passengers areontheriskmadeiftheyaredrivingwiththe inexperienced driver. So it is important for the company to appoint only experienced drivers so that risk in term of the safety of passengers can be done. Free rides:Another biggest issue or the risk is the free rides. The free rides are provided to the passengers for the first rude. Free rides are also offered to the passengers when they avail the discount or it is offered to the regular customers for some terms and conditions(Wirtz and Tang, 2016).But these free rides are very costly for the company whichbecomesveryriskyforthecompanytobearthe expense. As the cost of the driver, petrol, car, and etc. all are included in that and when the free rides are charged the company has to bear this expenses which becomes very costlyforthecompany.Sotoovercomethisriskthe company has to charge certain charged from the passengers instead of giving them the free rides.
Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 9 Because Uber is so popular and the business model is being expanded to other industries, should there be regulation to develop compliance with standards to protect competitors and consumers? The business model of the Uber has used the mobile app through which only the cabs are booked. So the competitor's company is also using the same models to replace the Uber. So the rules and regulations are made by the government to protect the Uber from its competitors that same business model cannot be used. Uber was very popular so it doesn’t follow the certain rules and regulations which have to be followed. So the company has to comply with the rules and regulationsothatproperethicscanbemaintained.By following the rules the company will have the right to fight against their competitors(Sundararajan, 2014). TheserviceofferedbytheUberisnewwhichwasnot offered before by any company. There are no as such rules and regulation for this kind of the business but every country has the lawsuit which the company has to follow. Like other businesshassomeregulationswhileconductingand operating any business activity, similarly Uber should also have some rules and regulations so that it is easy to book a ride(Posen, 2015). Aspertheconsumerprotectionlaw,thislawhelpsin protecting and governing the right of the consumers. When the drivers drive the car without any license and before taking any safety measures then it is risky for the customers to take the ride. So the laws are made by the government that license is required by the drivers of the Uber so that safety can be protected by the consumers(Tippett, 2018). The government also made the rules the person who is driving should drive the car in full stability. He is not allowed to drive the car if he was drunk. As per the rules if any
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Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 10 persondriveswhilehavingalcoholthenhislicenseeis ruined and penalties are also imposed. Aspertheregulationofthegovernmenttoprotectthe customers, it is important to wear the seat belt by the person who is sitting as well as the driver so that safety measures can be kept in mind. As per the rules and the regulation of the government the driving should be made on the normal speed. The driver should drive in the speed limit; he should notmaketheexcessivespeedwhichstartsharmingor destroying the customer. So the rules are made that speed should be normal while driving and if that speed cross by the person then penalties are imposed on them(Watanabe, et al., 2016). The government also has made the rules for the competitors of the Uber that nobody can start this business without the permissionofthegovernment.Forstartingthistypeof company the license has to be taken by the drivers then only they can drive the customers(Ovide, 2012).The rules are also made that the competitors have to comply with certain details only then only they can start a similar kind of the business. The competitors should have the ethical rights and they should know that while driving the cars the license is must require.
Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 11 Conclusion From the above report, it is concluded that any business should be work in an ethical manner so that they can get success in future also. As Uber was becoming very famous so their business model was influenced by many companies. The competitor's companies of the Uber are offering the ride- sharing services in a similar way. The report has explained the issues and ethical challenges which the company faces while providing the services to its customers. Due to the aggressive corporate culture of the Uber, the resignationfrom the post of theCEO was doneby the Kalanick’s. The biggest issues were that the drivers are not licensed and the company was not focusing on the safety measures of its drivers and the riders. So for achieving the longtermsuccessandforgrabbingthetrustofthe customer’stheseissueshastobeaddressedbythe company. The company has to operate its functions in an ethicalmannerandshouldcomplywiththerulesand regulations of the company so that trust can be upheld and success can be achieved. In this report, certain challenges and issues are addressed suchas the Uber doesn't give any appropriateplace of working to the employees of their company which results in losing their interest. Uber doesn’t have any commitments with any employees and they don’t even offer the good or the conductive working place. The drivers of the Uber are nottheiremployee’sbuilttheyaretheindependent contractorsortheidealpartners.Inthisreport,the government rules and regulations were also explained which has to comply with the company so that consumers can be protected.
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Running head: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility 13 Heimans, J. and Timms, H., (2014) Understanding “new power”.Harvard Business Review,92(12), pp.48-56. Javed, B., Rawwas, M.Y., Khandai, S., Shahid, K. and Tayyeb, H.H., (2018) Ethical leadership, trust in leader andcreativity:Themediatedmechanismandan interactingeffect.JournalofManagement& Organization,24(3), pp.388-405. Liechtung, J., (2017) The Race Is On-Regulating Self- Driving Vehicles before They Hit the Streets.Brook. J. Corp. Fin. & Com. L.,12, p.389. Liechtung, J., (2018) THE RACE IS ON! REGULATING SELF-DRIVINGVEHICLESBEFORETHEYHITTHE STREETS.Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law,12(2), p.6. McNamara,A.,Smith,J.andMurphy-Hill,E.,(2018) October.DoesACM’scodeofethicschangeethical decisionmakinginsoftwaredevelopment?. InProceedings of the 2018 26th ACM Joint Meeting on EuropeanSoftwareEngineeringConferenceand SymposiumontheFoundationsofSoftware Engineering(pp. 729-733). ACM. Ovide,S.,(2012)Tapping'bigdata'tofill potholes.Kidney,6, p.4. Posen, H.A., (2015) Ridesharing in the sharing economy: should regulators impose Uber regulations on Uber.Iowa L. Rev.,101, p.405. Rauch, D.E. and Schleicher, D., (2015) Like Uber, but for local government law: the future of local regulation of the sharing economy.Ohio St. LJ,76, p.901.
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