Q1.

Based on the published reports, what are the apparent business ethics issues that
you see in this case history? Please give your answer under three classifications:
Systemic, corporate and individual issues.

Systematic Issues –
Corporate Issues –
1) Tracking users and employees – In November 2014, Uber was accused of using “God
View” technology to track the movements of users. Later, when a female reporter was
censorious of the company, a manager retrieved her profile information without her
consent to discredit her publicly.
2) Sabotaging competitor – In August 2014, Uber to adversely affect Lyft’s profits and
services booked thousands of faux rides and spammed their drivers.
Again, in April 2017, to uncover the employees who were working for both Uber and
its competitor Lyft, Uber used a program called, “Hell” to steer those employees away
from Lyft.
3) Flouting regulations – In December 2016, Uber launched a pilot testing of self-driving
vehicles in San Francisco without permits from the regulators. The cars were caught
running red lights and causing disruption in the bike lanes; the former problem was
attributed to “human error.”
In May 2017, the company was reported to have used Greyball, a software designed
to dupe law enforcement agencies in cities where the company is illegal. The
revelations resulted in the launch of a federal investigation.
In November 2017, Uber disclosed that it had paid $100,000 to a hacker to hide a
massive data breach.
4) Harassment and Discrimination at the workplace – In February 2017, Susan Fowler,
revealed that when she reported her superior for sexually propositioning her to HR,
the HR treated the issue lightly and just gave a warning to the “high-performing”
superior in question as it was his first offence. Apparently, there already existed
similar cases such as this in Uber.
She also disclosed a “comically absurd” case of discrimination. Uber decided against
ordering leather jackets for women as “there were not enough women in the
organisation to justify placing an order,” when they were in fact promised to everyone
in the organisation.
5) Stealing Secrets – In February 2017, Alphabet’s Waymo (the self-driving car
company) accused a former Waymo employee of stealing trade secrets for Uber.
6) False Advertising – In January 2017, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated that the
company deceived people into driving with false promises about earnings which were
reportedly far less than the publicised rates that Uber posted online in eighteen major
countries.
7) Underpaying Drivers – Uber admitted to having underpaid it drivers in New York
City for more than two years by cutting into the driver’s share of fares.
8) Chasing growth – In Brazil, Uber changed its policy to give customers the option of
paying in cash which led to an increase in a number of robberies and murders of the
Uber drivers. In spite of the increasing internal and external pressure, the company
only imposed identity checks for passengers, five months after the occurrence of the
 first murder.

In Brazil, Uber responded tragically slowly when several drivers were robbed and
killed after it allowed passengers to pay anonymously in cash. Even though, pressure
for both internal and external were surging, Uber only imposed identity checks for
riders this February, five months after the first murder occurred.
Individual Issues –
1) CEO Travis Kalanick – In February 2014 - Made a sexist joke about his increasing
popularity, telling a reporter, “We call that Boob-er.”
March 2017 – The CEO caught on camera with his own Uber driver, who complained
about the strain of making a decent living with company’s declining rates. The driver
in question was then yelled at by the CEO and was asked to take responsibility for his
own “shit.” Later, CEO apologised and said he intended to get “leadership help.”
In June 2017, following a condemning report on the workplace which proposed the
company to “review and reallocate” the CEO’s responsibilities, Kalanick announced
that he would take an indefinite leave of absence.
2) Eric Alexander (executive for Uber Asia Pacific) – In June 2017, several reports
revealed that the executive had gotten hold of the medical records of the woman
passenger who was raped by an Uber driver in India, allegedly to cast suspicion upon
the victim’s account and defend itself against legal actions. The raped victim later
sued the company for defamation and violation of privacy.
3) David Bonderman (board member at Uber) – When the board was meeting to discuss
reforming the company and combatting sexual harassment, the board member made a
sexist joke that there was “likely to be more talking” with another woman on the
board. He apologized and stepped down hours later.
Q2. If you were in the position of the new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, what are the things
you would like to do - in the short term and the long term – to make things better for
Uber and its various stakeholders? Please ensure that your action plans are specific and
well-suited to implementation in real life.

1) Transparency with the stakeholders – Uber should share the steps that the company is
making to build a more inclusive culture and that it is committed to being fair, open,
transparent and accountable to both internal and external critique and at the same time
providing equal service to all regardless of their gender, race, etc. Additionally, the
company should also disclose the results of their internal investigations.
2) Partner with Local Communities rather than “Greyballing” them – Uber should reveal
the data that the communities need to ascertain where infrastructural work needs to be
done. The data can also show the busiest and the non-busiest times of the day to better
schedule the work. Additionally, it could help in determining the locations where
incremental enhancements such as addition of traffic lights should be carried out.
3) Hold drivers and shareholders in the same regard – Cease wage theft from drivers and
pledge to a fair living wage. Abide by labour standards such as paying for overtime
and anti-discriminatory policies. Recognise and give due credence to labour
organisations that represent their workforce. Additionally, make the rating system fair
and transparent.
4) Alteration of the “bro” culture – During Mr. Kalanick’s term as a CEO, employees
received an invitation about a celebration in Miami which included light-hearted rules
for sleeping with each other from him. Another incident involved him walking with a
top executive into an escorts bar in Seoul on a business trip. Several incidents such as
these resulted in the propagation of the “bro” culture which need to be transformed
into a professional workplace where fairness, inclusion, respect, and protection from
harassment and discrimination of any kind are the custom. Introduce and model
ethical values in everyday work and relationships at all the levels in the organisation.
References -
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/18/uber-travis-kalanick-scandal-pr-
disaster-timeline
https://onlinecareertips.com/2017/10/uber-still-much-trouble-ethics/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/06/uber-fires-employees-sexual-
harassment-investigation
https://www.ft.com/content/7a1b6f24-502f-11e7-bfb8-997009366969
https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/30/15904510/uber-open-letter-board-ethical-
recommendations
https://atelier.bnpparibas/en/smart-city/article/uber-seeking-central-role-future-mobility