Summative Assessment: Uber's CSR and Corporate Strategy Issues

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of Uber's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, governance, and strategic challenges. It begins with an introduction outlining the background of Uber, the problem statement focusing on CSR issues, and the significance of the study. A literature review explores the importance of CSR in business and factors influencing safety threats. The research methodology is detailed, followed by data analysis, which likely examines specific CSR concerns, such as environmental impact, unethical practices, and safety issues. The report then provides recommendations for Uber to mitigate these challenges and enhance its CSR performance, concluding with references and appendices. The report's core objective is to identify key issues in Uber's CSR activities, particularly regarding safety threats, and to propose strategies for improvement, making it a relevant case study for understanding the interplay between corporate strategy and social responsibility.

SUMMATIVE
ASSESSMENT- Corporate
Strategy and Governance

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Background .................................................................................................................................2
Problem statement .......................................................................................................................2
Significance of study....................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................7
Time scale..................................................................................................................................10
DATA ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................11
RECOMMENDATION.................................................................................................................18
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................22
APPENDICES...............................................................................................................................25

Topic : “To identifying the key issues in CSR activities. With reference to case study of Uber
company”.
INTRODUCTION
Corporate governance involves the strategy, governance and risk within a business
organisation. Corporate strategy refers to the overall goals of an organisation along with the
action plans for achieving the desired objectives with an intention of attaining a competitive
advantage (Crane and et.al., 2017). Corporate governance can be defined as the framework
which comprises processes, rules and practises through which an organisation is guided, directed
and controlled. This concept is mainly concerned about maintaining the interests of different
stakeholders of the company such as management, employees, customers, suppliers, government,
financiers, society etc. As corporate governance facilitates framework for achieving objectives
and goals, it is present in every aspect of management like from internal control to performance
appraisal, from routine action plans to corporate disclosure (Lim and Greenwood, 2017).
Organisation's board of directors (BOD) is considered as the main force which influences
the corporate governance and if there is a bad governance, then it could lead to creation of doubts
on the integrity, transparency and reliability of the business entity which directly impacts its
financial health. Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the aspect of Corporate strategy which
is concerned with the management of business processes that aims to develop overall positive
impact on the community or society. This aspect has gained immense popularity lately because it
has provided benefits to the companies in the form of enhanced brand image, more acceptance
from society, sustainability, more investors and higher profitability (Cuomo, Mallin and Zattoni,
2016).
The present research is based on the corporate governance and strategy of Uber
Technologies Inc. which is a public trading organisation based in America. It deals in offering
transportation & food delivery services to people in every corner of the world. In the research,
role of corporate governance play in the company will be identified, issues which the
organisation is facing regarding its corporate governance & CSR activities and what could be the
possible solutions or strategies which could help the Uber in overcoming such issues will all be
discussed in the present research study.
1

Background
Uber is the company having 110 million users over worldwide and also having market
share of 69.0% in US for the passenger transport. They have also captured market share of 25%
for the food delivery. They are dealing in many numbers of services to customers in order to
satisfy the needs and wants of the customer and also to generate higher profit margin which helps
them in achievement of their organizational goal (Crowther and Seifi, 2018). They deal n
providing different type services of private riding in a standard car having driver and this is
Upto the four passengers. They also having the Uber cars for child safety that is consisting of
child safety seats which carries additional charge. some of the services of Uber are considered to
be in under development that is Uber elevate which will able to provide the short flights using
the VTOL aircraft.
These demonstrated flights are estimates to start in mar future. They also have the
promotional limited services that is rides up to the tie limit of 15 minutes each on so specific date
.Uber eats of Uber company also helps in providing the meal's delivery from nearly restaurants
and charge fess against it .Uber is the company which is providing the luxury and satisfactory
services to the customer in ore to make them satisfy and create a strong rand image to attract and
retain customers for long (Tricker and Tricker, 2015).
Aim- The aim of report is Aim – To examine how safety threat is an issue in CSR. A case study
on Uber.
Objective :
 To identify role of CSR in organisation
 To analyse factors affecting safety threat in CSR
 To recommend strategies to minimise safety threat in CSR.
Problem statement
Uber having any issues related to the corporate governance and corporate social
responsibility related activities that is they somewhere not contributing sufficiently towards te
CSR that is towards the society. This makes them creating a bad image ito the mid of public as
any company which is contributing toward the CSR activities are responsible for creating good
and powerful image in mind of the customers.
2

Corporate social responsibility is considered to be the vision which helps in promoting
the business responsibility towards stakeholders ad investors . The key areas where company
needs to focus through CSR activities are for the environmental protection in order to well-being
of the employees, community ad the society. This will also lead them in achievement of their
goals effectively and efficiently Some CSR issue which company is facing are :
 Ride sharing leads to reach many areas using vehicles and cars which cause air pollution
and also impact on the public health.
 Not using the resources optimally
 Irrespective of the concept of “Go green”
 Polluting the air
 Unethical business practices
 High cost leads in lower customer retention
Hence, these are some problems which are faced by the company in context of the
corporate social responsibility. This is the responsibility which they need to focus and consider
while performing their business activities(Flick, 2018). Efficiently performing of these activities
helps in satisfying the people of society and community and it will encourage them, in investing
in the company and this will result in achievement of the organizational goals and objectives in
long run and also helps the company in capturing larger share f the market by generation of
strong brand image.
Significance of study
The present research study is significant as it will aid in assessing the in-depth knowledge
about the impact and role of corporate strategy, governance and CSR activities on the
organisation. The study will help in getting the meaningful insights regarding the safety threat to
give customer better and more supportive services. Moreover, the chosen research study will
assist in identifying the strategies which could be applied by the business organisation in order to
maximize the long term value of the company and its stakeholders.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theme 1 Significance of Corporate social responsibility in every business organisation
As per the view point of McWilliams (2015), Corporate social responsibility is defined as
the management concept which is related to commitment made by the company in context of
social, environmental as well as economic effects created by the business operations. It is related
3

with all the efforts made by Uber with the aim of improving and developing community, society
in which it is conducting its business. This responsibility provides equal opportunity for every
employees of Uber to make contribution towards the betterment of the society & environment
around its business premises and any other places. With the help of CSR activities, Uber has
been able to improves its overall business profitability and firm value. By socially and
environmentally engaging itself in activities, a company can build good reputation and image
among its customers, investors, stakeholders and in the market as well. It also assists in
developing good brand image along with confidence level among its customers, stakeholders and
society in which it operates. The main aim of Uber behind indulging in CSR activities is to
provide better and effective transportation services to its customer across the world. CSR has
enabled Uber in increasing its business accountability as well as provides transparency to all the
analyst related to investment, investors etc. Also, by indulging in the activities of corporate
social responsibility, media and other community helps in providing positive value to the image
of Uber. As a result of media attention, the stock and market value increases and in turn provides
ease related to the factor of capital investment.
On the other hand Crowther and Seifi (2018), argued that though corporate social
responsibility provides improvement in the profitability part of Uber, it comes with some
negative aspects as well. The activities of CSR is associated with money and cost expenditure.
On part of small business corporation, these CSR activities results in low profitability as a result
of huge cost incurred on undertaking of activities related to social and community welfare. Most
of the small business corporation by making use of social media and other means of
advertisement, promotional activities can communicate about its CSR related policy to all its
customers, investors and other local communities. This activity takes time for monitoring all the
exchanges and involves cost related to hiring of extra personnel and employees having good
knowledge base which sometimes these small businesses like Uber can not been capable of
affording. By framing budget related to these CSR related business expenditure can help in
proper allocation of business funds and resources in big corporation which is not possible in case
of small companies.
Theme 2 Factors influencing safety threats issues in Corporate social responsibility
activities of Uber
4

As per the opinion of Lim and Greenwood (2017), states that the size of business firm is
one of the main determinant for participation in the Corporate social responsibility. By making
emphasis on the size of business firm, accessibility of resource and scale of operation of every
medium size business organisation are factors which makes them least concerned about
participation in the Corporate social responsibility activities as compared to small and large
business firms. Most of the factors which is creating threat related to safety aspect are of macro
environmental nature. The financial criterion of Uber viz. High expected profit, return on
investment, increased shareholder value etc. are the most important factors which should be
taken into consideration while taking decision related to the CSR practices. CSR is thus
describes as a process of making analysis of all the ethical values which are adhering to the law,
rules, regulation, provisions and have respect for people, society and environment in which it is
operating. Uber has always ensures that its social responsibility is rendered in proper and
effective manner by managing its business operations and its impact environmentally, social,
economically.
The concept of safety culture issues is related to those particular sectors where safety
deficiencies can lead to enormous losses having its impact on the global level. Safety culture is
defined as the human factor which is contributing to accidents and disasters which is having
multiple causes. Also, all the issues related to ethical values, safety measures has been resolved
in proper way thereby satisfying its customer satisfaction level and achieving its desired business
goals as well. The focus of these CSR programs is on the development of community along with
the development in context of terms such as education, environment, community and healthcare
etc. Also, CSR helps every business organisation in making large contribution in form of
improved profit margin, performance etc. Thus every business organization should initiates these
activities for making their business operations more cost effective, efficient and profitable.
On the flip side Ali, Frynas and Mahmood (2017), disagrees by stating that by conducting
the activities related to corporate social responsibility, it creates conflicts with the profitability
margin of the companies. The amount of money indulges in undertaking of these business
activities can sometime becomes an obstacle for business firms which cannot be mitigated. Most
of the companies employees specialized personnel as well as CSR team which main role is to
formulate sound and better policies, strategies and goals for performing Corporate Social
Responsibility programs and activities which indirectly adds to their operational cost. Also,
5

budget has to be set aside for providing proper financial assistance to these CSR programs,
which is not possible for small companies as it will lead to blockage of cash and fund amount in
it. Amount blocked cannot be further used in any business operations which will further hamper
the overall business profitability and performance level. Also, it will create a negative impact on
the brand image and reputation of Uber as it will not be able to satisfy its customer needs on
time.
As per thought of Wang and et.al., (2016), corporate social responsibility is related to all
the efforts which are made with the aim of improving safety culture. Safety culture threats is
described as the state of attaining awareness related to all the threats. All the standards, norms
and code of conduct to be followed in risky business situations and technical as well as
organizational methods of ensuring that worker safety, health and lives are properly protected.
Proper communication method has been adopted by Uber to inform about existing hazards
related to occupational health and safety of its workers at their workplace as prescribed by the
law. Providing training, guidance and motivation to all the workers to behave in safely manner
by adhering to all the safety practices and also by following all the applicable safety procedures.
Also, involvement of management related to improving measures of occupational health and
safety by creating policy, its implementation in line with the principle that all the safety rules &
company operations are complementing to each other.
Theme 3 Measures to be undertaken for eradicating issues related to the Corporate social
responsibility
According to Cha, Yi and Bagozzi (2016), the aim of Uber is to increase its profits
margin for long term along with making positive relations with its customer and public at large.
Also, emphasis has been made on adoption of ethical standards and norms so as to reduce all the
risk factors associated with business and its operations, Mitigating risk of legal nature has helped
Uber in performing at large scale as the company has always ensures that all the legal and
statutory laws, rules as well as regulations has been complied with at the time of rendering of
business operations. Also, emphasis has been made on building and maintaining of shareholder
trust by undertaking responsibility related to corporate actions. Uber has always foster to
formulate those Corporate Social Responsibility related strategies which has directly encourages
the company by making positive impact on the society, environment and its stakeholders by
including customers, creditors, employees, investors etc. The company should always focus on
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areas related to economic, environment, social and thus should perform its business activities
accordingly. Economic areas covers relationship of company with investors, customers,
suppliers, business partners, government departments and media partner. Uber has undertaken
CSR activities in this area by providing transparency in business and its operational processes,
adoption of effective as well as best management business practices, better allocation of business
and financial resources as per the requirements of business department. By building good
relationship with customers and other stakeholders, Uber has been able to make high profit
because increase in its sales margin.
As per the statement made by Edinger – Schons and et.al., (2018), for undertaking
corporate social responsibility Uber has to ensure that all the environment issues, corporate
governance matter, working conditions, participation of employee in CSR activities has been
done which is leading to the retention of its customer base. Also, Uber has ensured that approach
related to social responsibility has effectively influences the overall development of safety
culture of its customer regarding its services. This organization has to identify all the issues
associated with its business processes, methods, decision making and should take preventive
measures for improving it. Thus, for accomplishing set desired business goals following factors
are need to be considered viz. type and size of the enterprise along with the nature of its business
operations. The place of business or society in which it is performing its business operations and
impact created by Uber related to the social, environmental and economic level. Participation of
workforce and employees in the activities of CSR for the betterment of organizational goals,
mission, principles, plans and codes of conduct by properly adhering to the corporate governance
factors.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology can be described as the theoretical analysis of research methods
that are most appropriate to a field of the concerned study or to a specific field of knowledge. It
involves particular techniques and processes which are adopted by a researcher for the purpose
of gathering, assembling and evaluating the data (What is research methodology, 2019). Below
are the research methods that are considered by the researcher for the present study:
Research Philosophy :
Research philosophy is related with the source, nature and establishment of in depth
knowledge. In other terms, it can be referred to as a belief about the manner in which the data
7

regarding the concerned research study must be collected, assembled, analysed, interpreted and
used. There are mainly four research philosophies which could be used by researchers that aptly
suits their research study. These are Pragmatism, Positivism, Realism and interpretivism
(Research Philosophy, 2019). For the present study, researcher has applied interpretivism
technique mainly due to the small sample taken for the research and for the type of data collected
which is qualitative data. This technique helped the research in determining the role of CSR in
Uber and how it impacted the performance of the company.
Research Approach :
It is defined as the systematic process which comprises different steps of wide
assumptions relating to data collection method, its analysis and interpretation. There are three
kinds of research approach; deductive, abductive and inductive.
Inductive approach is one which is concerned with the creation of new theory emerging
from the data collected and the focus on exploring a fresh theory/phenomenon or considering the
existing phenomenon from a different view (Kamil and et.al., 2016). Deductive approach is one
which aims on creating hypothesis and focuses on causality. In the present study, the research
has applied inductive approach through which it would be able to identify the strategies or ways
by which Uber can cope up with CSR issues.
Research design :
This refers to system of methods and processes which is applied for gathering, evaluating
and interpreting the problems in the research. Design of research study mainly involves
descriptive, experimental, correlation, meta-analysis. It is basically a plan which is created for
determining the answers to the problems included in research study (Vagle, 2018). The
researcher has selected the survey technique for assessing the impact of CSR activities on the
performance of transportation and food delivering company called Uber.
Data collection :
Data collection is the systematic process for gathering, measuring, evaluating, analysing
the data which is obtained from all the relevant sources for identifying the answers to the
research problem, testing hypothesis and evaluating the results. Data can be collected from
different methods such as primary and secondary methods. Primary method of data collection
means gathering/ obtaining data directly/first handedly by way of interviews, survey,
questionnaire, etc. Secondary research involves evaluation of the existing data for extracting
8

useful information that could help in answering the research problems. Secondary data could be
obtained from journals, articles, books, internet sources, government publications, company's
business information etc (Gabriel, 2015).
In the present research study, the research has applied primary research. A questionnaire
is prepared which will ask questions regarding the impact of CSR on organisation and CSR
issues which the company is facing. Through this survey technique, the research will be able to
collect the qualitative data which then is analysed and interpreted for the purpose of
recommending the solutions to the company regarding how it could overcome the issues in its
corporate strategy and governance.
Sampling :
Sampling can be described as the procedure of drawing out predetermined number of
observations from a large population. Sampling is a part of statistical analysis. There are
different methods of sampling such as probability sampling where each item in population has
equal chance of being chosen while in non probability sampling, there is no such pre-
determination regarding the item of population being chosen in a sample. Probability sampling
further consist of four types of samplings such as random, stratified, cluster and multistage
samplings (Corneillie and et.al., 2015).
For the present research study, the researcher has used random sampling and has taken a
sample of 20 employees of Uber organisation for assessing the issues, role and impact of CSR
activities on their organisation.
Data analysis :
It refers to the process of filtering and modelling the data obtained by the way by the
primary and secondary research. It is the procedure of concluding the results so that meaningful
decision could be taken. Data analysis is categorised into two parts such as quantitative and
qualitative (Patten and Newhart, 2017). For the current research study, qualitative data analysis
technique is applied by the researcher in which the outcomes of the survey will be analysed and
interpreted for the purpose of achieving the aims and objectives of the research study.
Ethical considerations :
Ethics are defined as the belief for conduct which helps in distinguishing between
acceptable and unacceptable behaviour (Hussain, 2016). Confidentiality and anonymity are two
of the ethical standards which have been considered by the research for the present research
9

study. Maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of the collected information is the ethical
norm which has been followed by the researcher during the research.
Research limitation :
Time and money were limitations which narrowed down the scope of the present research
and was mostly based on qualitative research methods. The survey did not facilitate accurate
statistically driven results (Bhagat and Bolton, 2019). If more resources had been provided, the
research could have been taken on larger scale which would have included the larger sample,
more statistical analytical models, etc.
Time scale
Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
Research proposal 9 days Tue 1/28/19 Fri 2/8/19
Aims and objectives 8 days Mon 2/11/19 Wed 2/20/19 1
drafting literature review 21 days Thu 2/21/19 Thu 3/21/19 1,2
Research methodologies 35 days Fri 3/22/19 Thu 5/9/19 2,3
Data collection 33 days Fri 5/10/19 Tue 6/25/19 3,4
Data analysis 32 days Wed 6/26/19 Thu 8/8/19 4,5
Data interpretation 16 days Fri 8/9/19 Fri 8/30/19 5,6
Finding and conclusion 23 days Mon 9/2/19 Wed 10/2/19 6,7
Recommendations 23 days Thu 10/3/19 Mon 11/4/19 7,8
Execute the plan 26 days Tue 11/5/19 Tue 12/10/19 8,9
Submission 15 days Wed 12/11/19 Tue 12/31/19 10
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DATA ANALYSIS
Questionnaire
(Appendix)
Theme 1: Yes, respondents are aware of CSR activities
Particulars Respondents
Yes 13
No 3
May be 4
Interpretation:
From the above survey which was conducted on 20 employees of Uber Technologies, it
was found out that majority of the sample population knew and were aware about the concept of
corporate social responsibilities. About 13 respondents said that they know their corporate
strategy and the CSR activities which the company undertakes for meeting its long term
objectives and goals for heading towards the road of success. 3 people said that they did not
know about the corporate social responsibility activities of Uber while 4 said that they are not
completely aware about company's CSR activities.
Theme 2 : yes, Employees thinks CSR is essential for company's long term growth
Particulars Respondents
Agree 8
Strongly agree 4
Neutral 2
11
Yes No May be
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Respondents

Disagree 3
Strongly disagree 3
Interpretation:
From the above survey conducted on the 20 employees of Uber Technologies Inc., it can
be observed that 8 respondents thinks that corporate social responsibility activities are of highest
importance to the company. It was discovered that CSR activities and reporting of the same has
resulted into increase in the productivity and proficiency of the company. This has also been
supported by the literature review done in the previous segment of the research study. 4
employees said that they strongly agree that CSR is essential for the long term growth of Uber.
They said that providing quality services to society and undertaking business operations in the
way which leaves minimum footprint on the environment leads to wider acceptance from the
community which includes investors, customers, suppliers, government etc (Francis, Hasan and
Wu, 2015).
3 people disagreed and 3 people strongly disagreed that CSR is not an essential
requirement for the long term growth of the company. They said that corporate social
responsibility leads to extra cost to the company which is ultimately passed on to the buyers in
the form of higher priced goods and services. Higher priced goods and serviced leads to low
profitability as there is intense level of competition in the market and the demand for the services
of Uber is highly sensitive to price changes. If company fails to deliver the services at low prices,
then it would result loss of customer base. The same thing is also supported by the secondary
sources.
12
Agree
Strongly agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Respondents

Theme 3 : Benefits of CSR
Particulars Respon
dents
Improved public image 5
Increased brand awareness and recognition 4
Competitive advantage 7
Improved customer engagement 4
Interpretation:
As per the survey which was conducted on 20 employees of Uber Technologies, it was
found out that there are many advantages of employing and following CSR activities into the
business. Large number of respondents said that because of the CSR activities, the company has
managed to build a competitive advantage over its rivals in the market. The respondents said that
company is working on its mission to provide livelihoods to people who does not have higher
education. Company is focussing on imparting training related to the driving skills to people so
that they can earn their livelihood and support their family. Such initiatives by the company has
resulted yield greater acceptance from the society and customers prefers to chose the services of
an organisation which is responsible towards the society. Thus, this altogether has resulted into
development of a competitive advantage for the company.
13
Improved public image
Increased brand awareness and recognition
Competitive advantage
Improved customer engagement
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Respondents

5 respondents were of the view that corporate social responsibility has led the company in
enhancing its brand image. As company undertakes its operations in the ethical and socially
responsible manner, it helps it in avoiding any legal disruption from the concerned authority,
soothing working conditions are created through which employees gets motivated and become
satisfied with their jobs. All these things results into higher quality services to the customers that
eventually leads to better brand image in the eyes of society and business community. 4
employees of Uber said that due to the company's CSR activities, it has managed to enhanced the
customer engagement which has also been supported by the secondary sources. While 4 were of
the opinion that working in the ethical and socially responsible manner has benefited the
company in the form of increased brand awareness and recognition. This is because when the
company undertakes CSR activities, its effects are talked about in the public through which good
words about the company's operations are spread. This results into higher brand awareness and
greater recognition.
Theme 4 : Yes, sustainability activities has resulted into a competitive advantage for the
company
Particulars Respondents
Agree 14
Disagree 3
Neutral 2
Interpretation:
14
Agree Disagree Neutral
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Respondents

From the above survey which was conducted on 20 employees of the Uber, it was found
out that company's sustainability activities has yielded it a competitive advantage. Majority of
the sample population that is 14 respondents were of the opinion that competitive edge has been
created by the company through appropriate corporate strategy. 4 respondent are disagreed that
sustainable activities of the organization provide any kind of competitive advantages to the
customer or Uber technologies. 2 respondents are neutral, they think that sometimes
sustainability provide the competitive advantages to the organization or sometimes they did not
provide any competitive advantages.
Theme 5 : factors affecting safety threat in CSR
Particulars Respondents
Economic factors 6
Technological advancement 5
safety working conditions 7
all the above 2
Interpretation:
From the above survey conducted on the 20 employees of Uber technology Inc., it can be
observed that 7 respondents believe that if Uber technologies follow the CSR and corporate
governance in the company than they are able to provide the safety measure to their customer
and it also help them to acquire more customer toward their organization and increase their
market share. 6 respondents believe that by following the CSR activities and corporate
15
Economic factors
Technological advancement
safety working conditions
all the above
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Respondents

governance in the organization it will affect the economic factor of the company. 5 respondents
think that CSR activities provide the technology advancement to the organisation. The CSR
activities help Uber technologies to enhance their market image and attract more customer
toward the company by the CSR activities. 3 respondents think that by following CSE activities
in Uber technologies they can achieve the economic factor, technology advancement and safety
measures to the organization.
Theme 6 : Major CSR issues facing by the company
Particulars Respondents
Environmental issues 6
Corporate governance 4
Working conditions 4
Employee participation 3
Customer retention. 3
Interpretation :
From the above survey which was conducted on 20 employees of the Uber, it was found
that 6 respondents believe that the major issues faced by the Uber technologies in CSR activities
are environmental issues. They can use the low carbon emission cars to reduce the carbon level
in the environment. 4 respondents believe that corporate governance becomes the big issues for
the Uber technologies in CSR activities. The directed rules and regulation of the Uber
16
Environmental issues
Corporate governance
Working conditions
Employee participation
Customer retention.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Respondents

Technologies affect the CSR activities.
4 respondents believe that the working condition of the organization and market arises
the issues in addressing the CSR activities. The culture and background of Uber affect make
huge impact in social responsibility activities. 3 respondents think that employee participation is
the big issue to address in the CSR activities. The employees of the company reduces to
participation in the social activities because of their low interest or unawareness about the
benefits of CSR to the organization. 3 respondent in the survey believe that customer retention is
the big issue which was faced by the Uber technologies in their CSR activities.
RECOMMENDATION
For overcoming the impact of Uber business operations on different areas, it is required
to undertake corporate social responsibility activities. With the help of formulation of better
CSR policy, Uber can improves its overall business profitability, performance level and its firm
value. By introducing the best energy efficient fuel can help Uber in reducing its operational
costs and thus can provides benefit to the environment.
Environmental issues – Most of the companies and business firm have belief that by making
improvement in the performance level of environment it will provide benefits directly to the
company itself. Uber by using better quality fuel, gasoline resources in its transportation
business has been overcoming with the issues related to pollution and climatic changes. Also,
the company has started CSR activities related to protection of environment and its resources
and creation of less waste which further help in lowering costs of operation. Uber has
emphasizes that with the help of sharing the seat policy, it has help in reducing the need of
personal car ownership. Uber has make use of existing facility of infrastructure in more efficient
manner at no extra cost. The focus behind this is to have more people into the back seats of the
car.
Working conditions – With the help of better working culture as well as working conditions,
employees always gets motivated and perform better. This helps in becoming employee more
productive, useful and creative (Voegtlin and Greenwood, 2016). The feature of safety culture
for its workers related to the work place has to be ensured by the management of Uber.
Corporate social responsibility is considered essential factor which helps in building brand value
and reputation. By recognizing and implementing core principles of corporate social
17

responsibility, Uber will be able to achieve a competitive advantage in the market. For seeking
this market advantage, ignorance related to the safety need of its workers and care for the
working environment should not be done. Also, equal opportunity and treatment should be given
to each employee and workers. Features related to the social responsibility in regard of safety
culture of Uber is of equal importance for seeking the competitive advantage and market
position.
Employee participation – By active participation of employee in the CSR activites, employees
can improve their performance level. Employees by sharing their opinions, thoughts and
concepts related to the activities of Corporate social responsibility can affect
their participation level as well as can make involvement better. The activities of CSR
undertaken by Uber influences the overall attitudes and behaviours of its employee and workers.
It is basically concerned with the relationships between customers, shareholders, management
and the company itself (Vlachos and et.al., 2017).
Corporate governance – With the help of CSR activities, increases in business accountability
has to be provided and also transparency in context of matter related to investors, media,
shareholders and other local communities, societies should be there. By complying with the
proper code of conduct and rules of corporate governance it will enhance reputation level among
its investors. Corporate governance basically deals with how the power, privilege, benefits and
wealth should be distributed and to be exercised by whom. Corporate governance generally
involves a simple concept which focuses on defining vision, direction of business firm, setting of
business norms and standards, monitoring the process of allocation of financial as well as human
resources thereby maintaining a proper balance between its stakeholders interests. With the help
of corporate governance, Uber will lay emphasis on the sustainability aspects of the enterprise
and values which assists in the decision making process. It also ensures proper communication
of the business goals and objectives to be achieved in the near future by the firm.
Customer retention – The word corporate social responsibility is generally concerned with
feature that Uber should always be accountable to the local community, society shareholders,
customers related to its business actions and operations. Adoption of CSR policy is always aimed
adhering to ethical values by respecting all the customer, communities and environment (Wang
and Sarkis, 2017). Uber has to monitor that whether it is complying with its stated CSR policy or
18

not as customers are always attracted to reputed companies which is a good corporate citizen.
ACTION PLAN
ISSUES STRATEGIES TIME FRAME
Environmental
Issue
 By ensuring formulation of relevant and
related legislation, rules and provisions
specifically dealing with the environmental
policy. Also, policy related to better and
increased transparency of business
operations should be framed. Furthermore,
issues related to the environment
protection can be resolved by conducting
the environmental inspections.
 Also, with the help of public auditing
mechanism and its better utilization related
to training aspect for the point of view of
assessing that whether Uber has made
compliance with all the terms as specified
in the environmental license and permits
granted and as per the local environmental
legislation (Wang and et.al., 2015).
 Also, by making identification and
evaluation of all the potential risks
associated with the environmental which
are beyond the environmental permitting
terms.
 By conducting the educational seminars
and workshops on the topic of
environmental issues and thus evaluating
all the environmental risks related with its
2 weeks
19

business activity.
Corporate
Governance Issue
 By promoting feature of accountability
related to its business operations and
activity and ensuring publication of a
special Corporate Social Responsibility
Report.
 By designing CSR Guidelines in the
relation with the establishment of the CSR
by Uber. And containing section
specifying basic steps for its
implementation in the Social Reporting.
3 weeks
20

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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(CSR) disclosure in developed and developing countries: A literature review. Corporate
Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 24(4). pp.273-294.
Bhagat, S. and Bolton, B., 2019. Corporate governance and firm performance: The
sequel. Journal of Corporate Finance.58. pp.142-168.
Cha, M. K., Yi, Y. and Bagozzi, R. P., 2016. Effects of customer participation in corporate social
responsibility (CSR) programs on the CSR-brand fit and brand loyalty. Cornell Hospitality
Quarterly. 57(3). pp.235-249.
Corneillie, E and et.al., 2015. Nonverbal behavior in assessment centers: Towards new research
methodology. In Fourth Annual Nonverbal Preconference.
Crane, A and et.al., 2017. Measuring corporate social responsibility and impact: Enhancing
quantitative research design and methods in business and society research.
Crowther, D. and Seifi, S. eds., 2018. Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility. Emerald
Group Publishing.
Crowther, D. and Seifi, S. eds., 2018. Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility. Emerald
Group Publishing.
Cuomo, F., Mallin, C. and Zattoni, A., 2016. Corporate governance codes: A review and research
agenda. Corporate governance: an international review. 24(3). pp.222-241.
Edinger - Schons, L. M. and et.al., 2018. Frontline employees as corporate social responsibility
(CSR) ambassadors: A quasi-field experiment. Journal of Business Ethics. pp.1-15.
Flick, U., 2018. An introduction to qualitative research. Sage Publications Limited.
Francis, B., Hasan, I. and Wu, Q., 2015. Professors in the boardroom and their impact on
corporate governance and firm performance. Financial Management. 44(3). pp.547-581.
Gabriel, Y., 2015. Reflexivity and beyond–a plea for imagination in qualitative research
methodology. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International
Journal. 10(4). pp.332-336.
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Hussain, S., 2016, April. Threshold analysis of design metrics to detect design flaws: student
research abstract. InProceedings of the 31st Annual ACM Symposium on Applied
Computing (pp. 1584-1585). ACM.
Kamil, M. L and et.al., 2016. Handbook of reading research, Volume III. Routledge.
Lim, J. S. and Greenwood, C. A., 2017. Communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR):
Stakeholder responsiveness and engagement strategy to achieve CSR goals. Public Relations
Review. 43(4). pp.768-776.
Lim, J. S. and Greenwood, C. A., 2017. Communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR):
Stakeholder responsiveness and engagement strategy to achieve CSR goals. Public
Relations Review. 43(4). pp.768-776.
McWilliams, A., 2015. Corporate social responsibility. Wiley encyclopedia of management,
pp.1-4.
Patten, M. L. and Newhart, M., 2017. Understanding research methods: An overview of the
essentials. Routledge.
Tricker, R. B. and Tricker, R. I., 2015. Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices.
Oxford University Press, USA.
Vagle, M. D., 2018. Crafting phenomenological research. Routledge.
Vlachos, P. A. and et.al., 2017. The effects of managerial and employee attributions for
corporate social responsibility initiatives. Journal of Organizational Behavior. 38(7).
pp.1111-1129.
Voegtlin, C. and Greenwood, M., 2016. Corporate social responsibility and human resource
management: A systematic review and conceptual analysis. Human Resource Management
Review. 26(3). pp.181-197.
Wang, D. H. M. and et.al., 2015. The effects of corporate social responsibility on brand equity
and firm performance. Journal of business research. 68(11). pp.2232-2236.
Wang, H. and et.al., 2016. Corporate social responsibility: An overview and new research
directions: Thematic issue on corporate social responsibility.
Wang, Z. and Sarkis, J., 2017. Corporate social responsibility governance, outcomes, and
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financial performance. Journal of Cleaner Production. 162. pp.1607-1616.
Online
Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.managementstudyguide.com/importance-of-corporate-social-
responsibility.htm>.
Pros & Cons of Corporate Social Responsibility. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-corporate-social-responsibility-56247.html>.
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<https://research-methodology.net/research-philosophy/>
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<http://www.writeawriting.com/academic-writing/what-is-research-methodology/>
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APPENDICES
Questionnaire
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name of organisation:
Name of employee:
Age:
Date
1. Are you aware of Corporate social responsibility (CSR) of your company?
 Yes
 No
 may be
2.Do you agree CSR is essential for the long term growth of company?
 Agree
 Strongly agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
3. According to you what are the benefits of CSR ?
 Improved public image
 Increased brand awareness and recognition
 Competitive advantage
 Improved customer engagement
4.Do you agree company has developed a competitive advantage due to its sustainability
activities?
 Agree
 Disagree
 Netural
5.What are the factors affecting safety threat in CSR ?
 Economic factors
 Technological advancement
 safety working conditions
 all the above
6. What are the CSR issues which your company is facing currently?
 Environmental issues
 Corporate governance
 Working conditions
 Employee participation
 Customer retention.
7. Recommend strategies for minimising safety threat in CSR
24