Uber International Business Case Study

“It’s a simple experience and a much more pleasant way to get a ride than stepping onto a busy street and waving at oncoming traffic” (Stone, 2014, p. 53). It is convenient for both the employee and customer to arrange a ride, which makes Uber preferable. Additionally, the employees of Uber are given more benefits than the employees of taxi companies. For example, Uber issues an iPhone with the Uber software, free gear to secure it to their windshield and an hour of orientation (Stone, 2014, p. 52). It is this simplicity that appeals to people seeking employment. They are also using a platform that is accessible to many of their customers, because, as of 2015, “64% of American adults now own a smartphone of some kind” (Smith, 2015). Since their focus is on luxury, innovation, and results, they have transformed the public transportation system in their favor.

Uber Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2009 by Travis Kalanik and Garrett Camp as a way to solve their own transportation problems in the traffic congested city of San Francisco where it is still based and headquartered. Uber Technologies offers an on demand car service application for smartphone users that links drivers with people needing a ride. According to Jim Makos of Pestle Analysis “It brilliantly connects the transportation industry with technology via its ride-sharing app.” With the click of a button on the application you can summons a vehicle of your choice see your rate, pay

There were many documented and perhaps more undocumented cases of employees breaking rules in the workplace and manager is undecided on how to handle those situation. This case study analyses what happens when there is lack of clear or precise Human Resource policies and why this may cause issues within teams at the ground level. This is an important study in human behavior to emphasize culture and

Human Resources professionals are in a unique position to help corporations build the integrity of the company and develop positive organizational cultures. They can use their influences on many levels within an organization promote ethics by developing programs and policies that encourage employees to make the right choices. This may be in form of a written code of ethics or ethical training for managers and employees that make them fully aware of the company’s expectations in areas such as discrimination, sexual harassment, and the treatment of employees. The HR department can also be a resource and kept close at hand when ethical situations arise they are not clearly addressed in the policies or as a mediator for conflict resolution. Since the HR department is involved in the hiring of new employees, they can be proactive in identifying desirable character traits that align with the company’s philosophies as well as on-boarding programs that reinforce the values of the company.

Immanuel Kant once said “In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.” (Kant, n.d.). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes prohibition of sex discrimination which includes sexual harassment and hostile work environment. An example will be used to help define the law that is relevant to sexual harassment and hostile work environments, along with describing the facts of the case. A view on current lessons learned and any new thoughts learned while conducting research will be put forth. Lastly, a look at ethical issues related to the example presented will be discussed.

In Dana Wilkie’s article, “When the Bad Guy Is the Boss”, he discusses the issue of when the owner of a company causes problems with the employees. For this article, Wilkie uses the event in which Donald Sterling, ex-owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, was fined in April of this year for discrimination as an example. Wilkie (2014) quotes San Francisco-based Miller Law Group special counsel, Carolyn Rashby, who says, “It is always difficult to tell your boss that her or his behavior is inappropriate and that she or he should undergo training for it.” (para. 4) Wilkie suggests that although business owners have power over employees, HR managers should try to encourage their bosses to be aware of certain policies so that they may avoid any lawsuits.

1. Is the air taxi industry poised for take-off? What customer segments are most likely to lead to success?

With innovation and the introduction of corporations to the Bay Area, there has always been a problem of a shortage of housing and property values rapidly increasing, and the introduction of Uber to the Bay would be no different. For Example, in 1849 the discovery of Gold in San Francisco brought many people to the area. With this influx in the population, there was an increase on price based on supply and demand so much so that “prices for everything skyrocketed: eggs were a dollar apiece … Land downtown was so valuable that people bought water lots - plots of land in the bay - and filled them in” (Solnit 6). Consequently, the Bay has always had a multitude of people and not enough land for them, causing real estate prices to skyrocket. The same can be sad if Uber was to be brought to Oakland. Oakland has been previously known as being far more affordable alternative to San Francisco (Document B).

Every company has set policies concerning unprofessional behavior, ethics, and discrimination. It is each person’s responsibility to do the right thing when no one is watching. However, there are always those that think they are above the law so to speak. It is an organizations responsibility to uphold their policies and reprimand those that break them. Unfortunately, often times covert harassment, such as, sexual harassment goes unnoticed or ignored until a victim comes forth.

See Chapter 3 - Equal Employment Opportunity and Human Resources Management: Case Study 2: Misplaced Affections: Discharge for Sexual Harassment

The use of ride-sharing applications has become a popular choice to travel from one destination to another. In the past, cities were dominated by the use of taxis as a means of ride choice. As technology and society has evolved, ride-share applications such as Lyft have become a dominating choice for travel. After completing a PEST and SWOT analysis, Lyft can analyze how to proceed going forward to continue its growth and success.

He (2001: ) further mentions that “it is the people who work in the business that really count. Treating employees badly...will inevitably come to haunt us in the long run”.

Prepared for HU 432 007 Ethics for Managers & Engineers Professor Paul Hudec and submitted 5/4/2016

The goal of this Service Audit report is to identify how effectively Uber provides services and servicing. It also aims to analyze any service gaps in the context of the customer experience. A service audit from the “customer point of view” was conducted to examine this subject.

Uber is an innovative company that operates as a transportation company and a food delivery service around the globe. In addition, Uber is a company that was invented five years ago. Furthermore, during Uber’s early stages of development, the servicing company was referred to as “UberCAb”. Then an individual in San Francisco had decided to try out their service. From the individual’s first experience, the individual was very impressed. In addition, from that point, the company referred to as “UberCab” became commonly known as Uber. Also, Uber operates their service business in fifty eight different countries and have allocated over $60 billion in revenue. Uber faces many issues in their human resources operations implementation regarding drivers and internal employees.