Ethics and Sustainability in Uber: An Analysis Using Ethical Frameworks

This article analyzes the ethical issues of sexual harassment and privacy violation in Uber using ethical frameworks. The duty framework and virtue ethics framework are used to address the issues. The article also discusses the influence of corporate governance and organizational culture on workplace behavior.

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ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
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Author Note

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Part A
Introduction
It is worth mentioning that in the global business environment of the 21st century, many
corporations and companies of every size are faced with the challenge of addressing several
ethical issues that exist in the corporations or the companies. Businesses have the social
responsibility of developing codes of ethics and conduct for the purpose of conforming to the
norms and the regulations of several ethical theories (Smith & Wong, 2016). In this assignment
the ethical issues that exist in the business model of Uber will be analyzed by several ethical
theories and ethical frameworks.
Identification of the first ethical issue
Sexual harassment in the workplace is constituted by acts such as unwanted and unwelcome
sexual advances by any individual in the workplace which affects the employment of another
individual. The legal definition of sexual behavior is unwelcome visual, verbal and physical
conduct which is sexual in nature which is pervasive and severe in nature and which creates a
hostile work environment. It is worth mentioning that there are two legally defined forms of
sexual harassment in the workplace (Bolman & Deal, 2017). The first is Quid Pro Harassment.
Quid Pro harassment can be defined as unwanted sexual advancement by the employer for career
advancement of an employee. It is worth mentioning that this type of sexual harassment is
unlawful in nature whether the employee submits to the unwanted sexual advances of the
employer for the purpose of resisting the threatened harm or resists the unwelcome behavior and
suffers the consequences. The second type of sexual harassment can be considered to be Hostile
Environment Sexual Harassment. It can be stated that this type of sexual harassment occurs

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when an employee in the workplace is subjected to comments which are sexual in nature, which
are sexually offensive or unwanted unwelcome physical contact as a regular part of the work
environment. As mentioned before occurrences of sexual harassments have been reported in the
workplace of Uber. Uber has also been involved in controversies where the passengers have
reported instances of sexually harassed by the Uber drivers.
Ethical Framework for addressing the first ethical issue
In this given scenario, the ethical framework which can be used to analyze the ethical issue in
consideration is the Duty Framework. This framework can also assist an employer to assess
whether an action is line with the ethical obligations and whether a duty is required to be
exercised (Eskerod & Jepsen, 2016). Thus in relation to the chosen company, Uber it can be
stated that the management of the company has the duty to ensure that the employees in the
organization are not subjected to any unwanted and unwelcome sexual advances in the
workplace. For the purpose of preventing any occurrence of sexual harassment in the workplace
the management of the company has the duty to formulate a policy which would stipulate the
strict actions to be taken against anyone who has been accused of sexually harassing an
employee.
Identification of second ethical issue in consideration
The second ethical issue that can be associated with the organization in consideration, Uber is the
privacy of the customers. U.S senator AL Franken had sent Uber a letter accusing the company
of disregarding public policy. Franken, the chairman of the subcommittee on Technology,
Privacy and Law had been angered by the policies of the company in consideration. The
application that is used by the company allows the same to track the location of the customers.

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This in the view of Franken is in violation of the duty of respecting the privacy of the customers.
However, the C.E.O of Uber after receiving the letter from Franken did not reply or respond to
the letter. The matter of concern is not the invasion of privacy but the fact that most of the
customers do not know what the company is doing with their information. It is worth mentioning
that Uber uses the “God view tool”. The same technology is used by the law enforcement
authorities. However, there is a major difference in the usage of the technology by the law
enforcement agencies and Uber. The police force uses the aforementioned technology for the
purpose of protecting the public from harm, whereas Uber tracking device is a mere way to
further the business interests of the company.
Ethical Framework for addressing the second ethical issue
The ethical framework that has been chosen to address the ethical issue in consideration is the
virtue ethics framework. The Virtue Framework tries to identify the character traits, both positive
and negative that motivates people to act ethically in a given situation (Han, 2015). This
approach takes into consideration the character traits of a person and also analyzes what the
actions reveal about the individuals. It can be stated in accordance with the virtue ethics
framework that ethical behavior of an individual can be described as whatever a virtuous man
would do in a situation (Van Hooft, 2014). Thus in this given scenario, the ethical framework of
virtue ethics can be applied to address the ethical issue in consideration. It can be inferred that
the act of infringing the privacy of the customers of Uber cannot be called virtuous. Any
company possessing good virtues would not infringe the privacy of its customers for the purpose
of furthering his own interests.
Conclusion

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Thus, in conclusion it can be stated that the ethical issues that continue to plague the reputation
of this company, Uber are sexual harassment reported by the customers and the employees and
the act of disregarding the privacy of the customers. The ethical frameworks that can be used to
address the issues in consideration include the duty frame work and the Virtue ethics framework.
Part B:
Introduction
It is worth mentioning that by implementing the measures as suggested by the ethical
frameworks will help address the ethical issues as discussed earlier. It can be stated that if Uber
formulates a policy declaring the actions to be taken against those who have been accused of
sexual harassment, the instances of sexual harassment is expected to reduce. The duty framework
makes it mandatory for the company to formulate such a policy as it is the duty of the company
to address such ethical issues.
Summary of the issues and the frameworks used in Part A
The first ethical issue that had been identified in Part A was that of Sexual Harassment at
workplace.
The second ethical issue that had been identified was disregarding the privacy of the customers
of the company. The first ethical framework that has been used to analyze the ethical issue in
consideration is the Duty ethics framework. The first ethical framework that has been used to
analyze the ethical issue in consideration is the Duty ethics framework (Vaughn, 2015). . It is to
be mentioned that the Duty Framework focuses on the duties and the obligations of people in a
given scenario. It also emphasizes on the ethical obligations people should have and the things

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people should refrain from doing. In accordance with the principles of the duty framework it can
be stated that ethical conduct is defined by the fulfillment of one’s duties and the obligation of
doing the correct thing. It can be stated that the aforementioned framework can be utilized for the
creation of a system of regulations and rules that takes into consideration the expectations of the
all the stakeholders (Sen, 2017). The ethical framework that has been chosen to address the
ethical issue in consideration is the virtue ethics framework. The Virtue Framework tries to
identify the character traits, both positive and negative that motivates people to act ethically in a
given situation. This approach takes into consideration the character traits of a person and also
analyzes what the actions reveal about the individuals.
Reflection of Work based behavior
The influence of corporate governance on workplace behavior is immense. The
significance of corporate governance and its impact in modern business structure cannot be
ignored. From the very beginning, the structure of corporate governance has created major
impact in each and every aspect of an organization that involved communication skills, decision
making and leadership skills (Westermarck, 2017). However, the nature of the impact is such
that it has been governing the board of directors. It emphasizes on the part that how the board
conducts itself and at the same time interferes in the governance of the company. The influence
of corporate governance on individual behavior is vast. It creates great influence upon the
performance of the company and the board. In this regard, the ethical standards of the company
undergo major changes and the functioning of the company can be changed drastically. The

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structure of the corporate governance has proved to be beneficial in creating major impact on the
procedures of risk management, internal controls and corporate compliance.
Culture of the organization influencing individual behavior:
Organizational culture is an important term which greatly impacts the behavioral pattern
of individuals at workplace (Westermarck, 2017). It is worthwhile to refer here that, a weak
organizational culture leads to low employee motivation and in such process promotes bad
behavior within the workplace. In this regard, it is noteworthy to mention here that, companies
need to emphasize upon the basics of organizational culture for the purpose of efficient
functioning of the workplace. The culture of the organization has to be such that it should
emphasize upon improving the organizational culture. The individuals of the organization must
be motivated. In this way, misconduct by employees can be reduced which could save the
organization from substantial and consequential loss. In my organization, I often felt that I am
being targeted and considered to be unimportant. Therefore, it is important to encourage
interaction between the management and the other employees. In this way, each and every
employee will get equal attention.
Ethical codes of conduct in creating ethical culture in organizations:
The nature of the ethical codes of the organization must be such that it will establish the
ethical stance. It is important to know the employees working in the organization. In this regard,
it is important to understand the present work culture for the purpose of determining the areas of
improvement (Campbell, 2016). Candidates must be asked about the ethical concerns which are
currently faced by the organizations. Organizational priorities must be given. Proper training
should be given in order to enhance ethical decision making. It is important to demonstrate on

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ethical standards as well. Therefore, training sessions must be conducted where discussions
regarding ethical implications must take place. It is equally important to reward ethical behavior.
In this way, the employees will not face ethical dilemmas.
Conclusion
Thus to conclude it can be stated that implementing the measures as suggested by the
frameworks can be helpful in solving the ethical issues that continue to plague the reputation of
the company in consideration. In accordance with the principles of the duty framework it can be
stated that ethical conduct is defined by the fulfillment of one’s duties and the obligation of
doing the correct thing. The nature of the ethical codes of the organization must be such that it
will establish the ethical stance. It is important to know the employees working in the
organization. In this regard, it is important to understand the present work culture for the purpose
of determining the areas of improvement. The ethical standards of the company undergo major
changes and the functioning of the company can be changed drastically. The structure of the
corporate governance has proved to be beneficial in creating major impact on the procedures of
risk management, internal controls and corporate compliance. It is important to introduce work
ethics assessment which shall reveal the attitude of the employees towards behavioral issues like
discrimination, bribery and theft. The procedure of recruitment must be ethical.

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Reference List
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Eskerod, P., & Jepsen, A. L. (2016). Project stakeholder management. Routledge.
Van Hooft, S. (2014). Understanding virtue ethics. Routledge.
Han, H. (2015). Virtue ethics, positive psychology, and a new model of science and engineering
ethics education. Science and Engineering Ethics, 21(2), 441-460.
Vaughn, L. (2015). Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues. WW Norton &
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Sen, A. (2017). Elements of a theory of human rights. In Justice and the Capabilities
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Westermarck, E. (2017). Ethical relativity. Routledge.
Campbell, T. D. (2016). The legal theory of ethical positivism. Routledge.

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