Uber: State of Autonomous Transport - Management and Operations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Uber's leadership and management in the context of autonomous transport. It begins with an introduction to Uber's operations, highlighting its role in the gig economy and its pioneering efforts in self-driving car development. The report then delves into the differences between leadership and management, examining their roles in various situations, including planning, organizing, directing, staffing, coordinating, and controlling. It explores the application of different leadership theories and models, such as contemporary management theory, contingency theory, situational leadership, system leadership, and classical management theory, within Uber. The report also examines the significance of operations management in achieving Uber's organizational objectives and identifies factors impacting operational management and decision-making, including crisis management. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and providing insights into Uber's strategic approach to leadership and management in the rapidly evolving field of autonomous transport. The report emphasizes the importance of effective leadership in navigating challenges and capitalizing on opportunities within the dynamic market.

UBER: The State of
Autonomous Transport- A
Management and Operations
Perspective

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
Difference between role of leader and function of manager.......................................................3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
Role of the leader and function of manager in different situations.............................................5
Applications of Different theories and models of leadership in Uber.........................................6
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................8
Approaches to operations management and the role of leaders and managers...........................8
Significance of Operations management in achieving the objectives of Uber............................9
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................10
Factors impacting the operational management and the decision-making................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Operations management plays a major role in the success of organisation. It refers to the
administration of the business practices which are used in creating highest level of efficiency
possible within an organisation. Uber, headquartered in California, US is the company which
offers vehicles for hire, food deliver which is known as Uber Eats, couriers, package delivery
and freight transportation. It has become the largest providers in the gig economy which is also
considered as the pioneer in the self-driving card development. It is the biggest ride-sharing
player in UK having 45,000 drivers and 3.5 million passengers (Uber for business, 2020). The
report will focus on the management and leadership of Uber by laying emphasis on the
difference between leadership and management in different situations. Furthermore, it also
highlighted the operational management and its important in achieving the organisational
objectives and the factors which impacts the managing of operations.
LO 1
The managers and leaders play a very significant role in achieving the goals of the
organisations whether big or small and contributes in the progress. They both have a clear,
inspires the team, has the abilities to challenge, have good communication skills along with
showing honesty and integrity. But, still there are many differences between these two as they
use different ways to achieve the organisational goals which are as described below:
Difference between role of leader and function of manager
Leaders: A leader is basically an individual who focusses on bringing improvements to the
things and also motivates and encourages the people to move towards the better vision. It prefers
putting the people first and then making the vision a reality. They need to be empathetic and
need to connect to the people in order to achieve the objectives or success.
Manager: Managers are the people whose responsibility is to get the activities complete with
complete efficiency and they do this through other people in order to set and achieve the goals of
the firm by executing four basic functions of management such as Planning, Organising, Leading
and Controlling (Shaikh, Bisschoff and Botha, 2018).
S.No. Leaders Managers
1. A leader influences the subordinates or Managers are the people who are
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the members of the team to achieve
specified goals.
responsible to manage the entire
organisation.
2. It exercises the quality of
foresightedness.
Manager is completely filled with
intelligence.
3. The leaders sets the directions. The managers plan the details.
4. Decision is facilitated by the leaders. Decision is taken by the managers.
5. Leaders have followers who can follow
their instructions and can move on the
path instructed by leaders.
Managers have the employees who can
work for them.
6. Whenever any conflicts happens in the
organisation, the leaders uses it as assets.
Managers strives hard to avoid the
conflicts.
7. The leadership style used by the leader is
the transformational leadership.
The leadership style used by the
manager is the transactional leadership.
8. Leaders are the people who tries to
promote the change.
Managers are the people who reacts to
the change and does not promotes it.
9. The aligning of the people is done by the
leaders (Wajdi, 2017).
The organising of the people is done by
the managers.
10. The leaders have the responsibility to do
the right things.
The managers have the responsibility to
do the things right.
11. The main focus of the leaders is on the
people.
The major focus of the managers is on
the processes as well as the procedures.
12. The leaders lays emphasis on the growth
and the developments of the team mates
so that they can achieve the goals.
The managers lay more focus on the
accomplishment of the end results. they
are not concerned about how the results
have come and the hard work and
persistency.
13. These possess a long term prospective. These possess a short term prospective.
14. These focuses on the horizon of the task. These focusses on the bottom line of
task.
15. The actual image of the leader is
presented always as they are unique in
The managers are command oriented in
nature and tries to present the image of
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nature. the organisation as image.
16. These are originated in nature. These are imitative in nature.
17. They challenge the status quo. These accept the status quo.
Therefore, this is how the difference between the mangers and leaders can be evaluated as they
both focuses on the same goals but in different ways. This was identified that leaders are open
and transparent, they give freely, they take the responsibilities, they encourage and motivate
others to do much better and they never give up.
LO 2
Role of the leader and function of manager in different situations
There are many roles performed in the business of the organisation and the managers are
involved in performing various functions in the operations of the business. The role of the
leaders and the function of the managers can be applied in different situations as follows:
Planning: This is the situation which is the pre-determined schedule of different situations
which involves the objectives of the organisation as well as the designing of the goals. The
managers of Uber are responsible for planning the goals as well as the objectives which can help
in minimizing the cost and increasing the revenue (Connolly, James and Fertig, 2019). In this
case, the major responsibility of the leaders is bringing out the best performance for
communicating with the employees and aware them to achieve the goals which are pre-planned
with the best efforts.
Organising: This refers to organise the raw materials and the resources for utilizing the
materials in the way which can be the best possible. It helps in reducing the resources’ wastage
and ensuring that they are able to make the best md efficient use of them. The leaders of Uber are
responsible to organise the available resources according to the plan developed which can
thereby help in motivating the employees to work more efficiently (Stanton and et.al., 2019).
Directing: This deals in instructing the employees in the right and systematic order. Here, the
leaders of Uber will take the responsibility of directing and motivating the teams such that the
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tasks can be accomplished efficiently and effectively. They also focus on the motivation of the
employees so that the goals and objectives can be achieved the objectives.
Staffing: Uber considers its staff as the biggest assets. The managers and leaders both strive hard
in making the staff the most efficient and they started working as team members so that it
becomes easy to retrieve the best performance of the employees. Here the managers help in
recruiting and selecting the best qualified and skilled candidates. They also take the
responsibility to improve the work capability of the employees and must provide them training
according to gaining the other benefits.
Co-coordinating: This is the important part in making the plans and must evaluate that the
performance is according to the plan or not. It believes that in order to bring the best outcome in
the company, the bond between the functions and the departments in Uber must be ensured. It
contributes as if the it helps the Uber for coordinating and communicating among the different
departments and the situations so that the work link which is for the extra benefit can be
established (Mohamed, Rye and Fonzone, 2019). Leaders in this situation helps the departments
so that they can bring together and the managers deals in ensuring that the motivation of the
departments is maintained or they got demotivated.
Controlling: This becomes the major function of the managers which is controlling. The leaders
and the managers of Uber needs for the controlling the situation and the organisation’s
employees. It also ensures that the proper implementation can help in the planning and working
according to the plan at least.
New product launch
This is mainly done to provide additional value to the customers and to introduce
differentiation which cannot be matched with the competitor. The managers of Uber develop
various strategies and policies for the new product and its launching whereas the leaders mainly
aim at motivating the employees to cope up with the change or to be aware of the new product to
be launched which can help in implementation of those strategies. The managers set the goals
related to that product and the leaders prepare the employees to perform the tasks accordingly.
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Crisis Management
The managers of Uber have full control on the employees as they must what is happening
around. They must focus on the problems even if the minor issues come. Any issues left
unattended can lead to crisis. Leaders must try to resolve the issues and to prevent crisis. For this,
they must encourage effective communication at the workplace so that the employees can
discuss their issues with them and come to the best possible decision for overcoming the crisis.
Applications of Different theories and models of leadership in Uber
There are theories of leadership and management which can be applied to Uber in
performing their business operations. The theories for leadership and management which are
used by Uber are mentioned below:
Contemporary Theory of Management
In this current situation, this theory can be applied to Uber for dealing with the cost of
higher production. The main aim of the managers here is to try to minimize the cost of
production by negotiating it with the suppliers. Whereas, the role of leaders here is motivating
the employees so that they can become able to cope up with the new suppliers and maintain the
outcome of their performance.
Contingency theory
The main aim of this theory is to manage the change in strategy according to the changes
in the situation. This is basically used in Uber for minimizing the risk and in this crucial situation
when risks are to be mitigated, the leaders play the most significant role in implementing the
changes and helping the employees for coping up in the dynamic conditions of the market
(Mercer, 2020).
Situational leadership
Under this theory, it can be stated that the strategy developed under leadership depends
completely on the skills, talents and abilities of the employees to ensure that whether they
complete the job within the time limit or not. Uber uses this strategy to cope up with different
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situations and to meet the demands of the customers and the fluctuating in the dynamic market. It
can also be illustrated by the Hersey-Blanchard model that no single leadership is better than
another so instead of focusing on the factors of the workplace, the leaders must adjust their styles
of leadership according to their situations, skills and abilities. So, the model says that the
leadership is successful only when it is tasks-relevant and relationship-relevant.
System Leadership
This theory is used by the leaders of Uber for controlling the employee performance and
the communication between the employees in the different situations. It also effects and
influences the employees and the workers for performing the tasks and the duties according to
the demands of the organisation (Saeed and et.al., 2017). This leadership can be proved very
effective as it manages the performance of the biggest asset of organisation.
Classical management theory
This theory is basically focussed on improving the productivity of the organisation. This
theory is also referred as Kaizen. Therefore, it tries to bring improvements in the process of
production as to enhance it. In this case, participative leadership is used by Uber in making
various decisions and to bring continuous improvement in the production process. The leaders
and managers prefer to consult all the employees before taking any decision which keeps them
motivated and encouraged to perform the tasks.
Management by objective
This states that the objectives and goals of the organisation are achieved by the combined
efforts of the employees as well as the managers (Doyle and Brady, 2018). In Uber, the
managers lead the team so that the tasks can be completed accordingly related to the
performance standards.
The above theories if applied by the managers and leaders of Uber can be proved effective for
increasing the overall management, production, performance of employees and the motivation of
the employees.
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LO 3
Approaches to operations management and the role of leaders and managers
There are various approaches for managing the operations and the role of managers and
leaders in Uber are as follows:
Six Sigma: This is the process whose major focus is on the team efforts for completion of tasks
and management of performance. The task of the managers in Uber is planning by developing a
systematic plan in order to ensure the best utilizing the resources globally. The leaders of Uber
can use this six -sigma strategy for enhancing the team bonding and ensuring the employees’
effective performance (Waring, 2017). This strategy can be proved effective in the strategies for
expanding the online presence of Uber services and goods. This is the methodology for
improving and managing the quality which helps the businesses for improving the current
processes, products and services by discovering and eliminating defects. The main aim for six-
sigma is streamlining the quality control in manufacturing or any other process so there can be
no greater variance throughout. It follows three main principles i.e., smaller is better where they
have target of 0 for defects or parts which are rejected, larger is better where the target is 100
percent, nominal is best focus on the middle ground.
Total Quality Management (TQM): This is used by many multinationals for ensuring the
efficiency of the process of production. The concentration of this strategy is to bring
improvement in the quality of product and service which can be able to meet up target
customers’ actual demand. The cost of this process is very less than implementing other
strategies. The main aim of Uber for using this strategy can be due to the need to satisfy its
customers and the suppliers. The managers and leaders of Uber strives hard to motivate and
encourage the employees for giving the best performance for providing the better-quality product
and services to the customers (Mittendorf, 2017). This strategy is used by Uber for enhancing the
base of customers and meeting up the demand.
Just in time inventory: This strategy basically refers to the process of ordering the raw
materials which is just prior to the production process. This ensures the efficient use of the
inventory along with ensuring that the inventories do not stay idle for longer time. This benefits
the company by saving the time of the production process (Zeng, 2019). The role of managers in
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Uber is placing the orders just in time to the suppliers and during that time the leaders play their
role by evaluating the performance of employees so that the schedule of the inventory can be
managed in the right order. The main emphasis is laid upon identifying and correcting the
obstacles in the production process which helps in showing the hidden problems of inventory.
This helps in increasing the inventory turnover and reducing the holding and all connected cost.
This also eliminates the requirement in carrying the voluminous inventories and incurring the
heavy carrying other related costs to the manufacturer.
Continuous improvement process: This process is also referred as Kaizen which has a literal
meaning ‘Change for Good’. This can be applied in Uber to improve the efficiency of the
process of production. By using this strategy, the managers of Uber try to develop the efficient
strategies so that the quality of products and services can be improved. The leaders in this case
take the responsibility by helping the employees for working in a flexible workplace with
motivation and encouraging the better product production so that customers can be satisfied as
their demands can be fulfilled.
Significance of Operations management in achieving the objectives of Uber
Operations management plays a very significant role in maintaining the business
operations properly. It helps in achieving the objectives of the organisations. The main objectives
of Uber are mainly to provide dependable and readily available transportation service by
expanding its services globally. It strives hard to offers its services at very cheap cost to the
customers which can help in taking over the cab industry and to eliminate the ownership of
private cars (Browne, 2019). The way in which operations management can be used to achieve
its objective is described as below:
Maximizing the profit: The main goal of all the business is to earn larger profits. This goal can
be achieved by increasing the customer base and thereby the overall sales. The operation
management helps in increasing the overall profits. Uber needs to focus on providing the
transportation services at lower cost which can help in attracting the large number of customers
and to target all the classes of people. It can also give attractive offers for starting orders which
can divert the customers from private car ownership to the services of Uber.
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Satisfaction of customers: The main reason behind the success of all organisations is the
satisfied customers. This is must for the companies to satisfy the fluctuating demands of the
customers. Uber must give various options to its customers so that they can opt for the most
convenient option for transportation. This can be done by managing the various operations of the
company.
Product efficiency: This is the prime areas for minimizing the cost for the companies. The
managers and leaders must make effective relationship with the suppliers so that they can get the
raw materials at low cost and can sell the same at overall low cost but can be able make profits
by selling the products and services at lower costs (Shokoohyar, 2018). The company must make
proper cost calculation which can help in avoiding the high costing and ensuring the product
efficiency.
Strong Operations skill by improving the working condition: The company needs to ensure
that the employees working in the company are highly skilled and qualified which can be done
by planning of operation management. It helps on building the stronger customer base and by
maintain the skills of the workforce supply which can help in competing with the competitors in
the global market. In order to ensure this, it is must to provide the better working conditions so
that the employees can be motivated to work (Jiao, 2018). The safety and comfort at the
workplace are included under the operation management as the more facilities will lead to more
expectations regarding performance from the employees.
Inventory management: The planning regarding the inventory includes the determination of
inventory quantities, timing and alignment with the capacity of production and volume of sales.
This is the imperative of strategic management which has direct affect on the cash flow and the
profitability of the company. It helps in achieving the various vital objectives of business such as
customer service and satisfaction, control of costs, supply chain efficiency, accurate sales and
demand forecasting etc.
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Capacity management: This process focuses on working out the quantity of the resource
needed to meet the demand. It also lays emphasis on analysing the company has enough people
to do work or not. It helps in reducing the resource costs along with ensuring the availability
regarding the scope to be taken in various projects. Furthermore, it also helps in managing the
skills inventory along with identifying the skill shortages. Resources can also be booked by using
the capacity management.
LO 4
Factors impacting the operational management and the decision-making
There are various factors which impacts the management of the operations and the
decisions taken by the managers and leaders. The factors observed in Uber are as follows:
Global competition: Uber, being the biggest player of ride-sharing in UK, provides various
varieties in its products and services but its competitors like Ola, Kapten and Bolt are giving
tough competition to the company (Goyal, 2016). So, this factor influences the operation
management and forces the leaders and managers to take decision to expand its services online.
Quality, customer care and challenge regarding expenditure: The demand of the customers
is to get the good quality products at an affordable cost. But in order to maintain all these to
satisfy the demands of the customers, the cost of production increases (Mehrotra, Xue and
Lalmas, 2020). This becomes the major challenge for Uber.
Technology advancement: This forces the company to expand its services online which
becomes much easy and convenient for the customers to use. This affects the company to choose
the target market and the customer base. So, Uber must make use of advanced technologies and
the leaders and managers of the company must take efficient decisions in a specific way to
implement the same for increasing the customer base.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): This helps in managing the operations of the business
especially the large businesses such as Uber because it helps in determining the way in which
consumers look at the business and also it identifies that whether the financial, environmental
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and social goals have positive impacts for the business in order to work efficiently, have a
growth and make profit out of it.
Culture, beliefs and Values: These play the most important role in the business as it decides
various operations and its management which directly affects the progress of the company. It
helps in gaining potential competitive advantage. It is not an issue of HR but it is a business
issue. This responsibility is taken by the CEO and executive team with the HR through which the
company can support the responsibility through process, measurement and the infrastructure. It
can even determine the success or failure especially at the times of change. It can also lead to the
success or failure of the mergers, growth, acquisitions and the product cycles. All this depends
upon the alignment of culture with the business direction.
Stakeholders: Internal stakeholders (employees, managers and owners) and external
stakeholders (customers, government, suppliers, local community) both impacts the
organisational management. These stakeholders tend to be quite close in tune with the operations
of business. There is no greater impact on the communities but these affects the decision-making.
Internal ones are the individuals or groups which are financially involved in the operational
processes. Owners also have a greater impact on the management of operations and also take a
large amount of accountability as compared to employees and managers.
Apart from all these factors, various legal factors like tax, tariffs, government policies and
export-import also affects the operations of Uber along with maintaining the code of ethics.
CONCLUSION
Managers and leaders performs the most important functions in the businesses but are not
same from the function and roles perspective. The leadership and management of Uber was
highlighted. Also, there are many differences in their characteristics also which makes their roles
distinct in different situations. Leaders are considered to be the figurehead whereas the managers
are the followers of organisational goals. Various theories of management and leadership can be
used for the proper management of the company and its operations. Various approaches were
highlighted which are used for managing the operations and the role the leaders and managers
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play in this. Furthermore, the importance of operation management in achieving the objectives.
Lastly various factors were discussed which affects the operations and decision making of
leaders and managers.
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