#5.) What course of action would you suggest that the company take? Are there more than one courses of action? If so, what ethical framework is behind your reasoning? Why does this ethical framework yield a better outcome or provide better insights into your solution than another approach? What other approaches might work? Compare and contrast what each approach may offer as a potential solution.
The Ethical Framework that is being used in Ubers scenario is Deontological. The reason why Deontological is the best ethical framework is because this focuses on the duties and obligations and is based on rules. Deontological relates to Ubers ethical situation because Ubers transportation service has duties and obligations making sure their customers get to their destination safely. Uber’s rules are in place but as shown throughout this blog these duties were abused.
Also, teleological framework could work as well because this is based on consequential, and after these ethical situations took place there were consequences. For some examples, the scenarios of the drivers sexually harassing and assaulting, the passengers who hurt the drivers or even the drivers who stalk the passengers by their location. From these three different scenarios that happened in this transportation service, all had consequences for their actions.
Virtue framework will not work with Uber’s ethical situation. The reason why this ethical framework does not work is because this does not relate to a meaningful, happy lives or even excellence.
SAFETY OF THE PASSENGERS:
How Uber should take on this ethical situation is to properly do background checks on every individual you are hiring for this particular job. Background checks go a long way for choosing individuals to fulfill the requirements of a job. If I was management at Uber, I would make sure the person who I am trying to hire has no criminal background. The reason for this is to make sure they do not harm individuals that they are trying to take to their destination.
THE SAFETY OF THE UBER DRIVERS:
For some examples:
- “On Nov 3, 2015, a drunk passenger in California assaulted an UBER driver over the weekend. Although the passenger lost his job as corporate manager at Taco Bell after the video was publicly released, UBER did not take any action to stop this kind of incident”(Essays UK. , 2018)
- “Another recent incident happened on Jan 1, 2016 in Miami, when a Doctor in Florida aggressively attacked an UBER driver. Some recorded the video of the incident and the video got viral. Doctor was placed on administrative leave from the hospital but nothing has been done from UBER’s side”(Essays UK. , 2018).
Both of these examples are high risked issues. These two scenarios are not even he said she said scenarios, they literally have proof of these two incidents and Uber has done nothing. Heaven forbid these situations end up happening, I will make sure my driver is okay from this terrible situation that occurred. Also, making sure the individual who injured the driver gets in trouble. From seeing these graphic videos, I would make sure my uber drivers are safe and protected at all costs. If I was management of Uber, before incidents even happen I would suggest to my drivers to install company cameras to see the footage of every customer they pick up. I would give the drivers the option of declining any transportation service that makes them feel uncomfortable in any way.
PRIVACY OF THE PASSENGERS:
If I was the manager of Uber I would make it mandatory for the drivers to make sure after you drop an individual or a party off at their destination that the driver has to delete the customers information for safety reasons. A suggestion that is on Uber’s website is that on their app, “If you call 911 from the Uber app, the app displays your live location and trip details, so you can share them with the emergency dispatcher”(Uber.com).
Sources:
https://www.uber.com/us/en/safety/
Essays, UK. (November 2018). Ethical Issues Facing Uber. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/uber-ethical-issues.php?vref
Karly's Blog 
I agree with the statement you made about how you would hire drivers. As you stated, “background checks go a long way for choosing individuals to fulfill the requirements of a job. If I was management at Uber, I would make sure the person who I am trying to hire has no criminal background. The reason for this is to make sure they do not harm individuals that they are trying to take to their destination”. If Uber started making that change and making it public, I think it would only help their company rather than hurt it. I also like how you connected Uber with the deontological approach because it does focus on the duties and obligations and is based on rules in this situation too.
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Thanks Madison. Making sure individuals do not have a criminal background is very significant especially for this business because these drivers are dealing with the public every time they pick passengers up.
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I would completely agree that a deontological approach would be the right way to go about the ethical issues faced by Uber. The company has a duty and obligation to the customer as safety cannot be overlooked. I like how you touched on the privacy and safety of the passengers even more with this blog post. It rounds out all of the information that has been given so far and adds a nice touch to the blogs as a whole. Personally, I think Uber has a long way to go with fixing this ethical situation no matter which way they approach it. After all, what good is getting a ride somewhere if you don’t feel safe while doing it?
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Thanks Tyler. I thought that this ethical framework was the best one for this ethical dilemma overall. Uber’s duty and obligations is to protect their drivers and passengers at all costs and like what you said can not be overlooked. I agree with you that Uber has a long way to overcome these ethical issues and hopefully they will find solutions for these problems and stop them from happening again. That is a great question, and this could affect Uber’s business if they do not do anything about this ethical situation.
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The deontological approach is the best as it is Ubers duty as such a massive entity but also as to live up to their claims to safety being important ,Personally i like your suggestion of data being deleted but I’m not sure if the privacy concerns are the drivers having the data or uber having the data when the app is not being used. Drivers being assaulted is also a big issue that needs to be taken care of because at the forefront of the company are those who provide the rides and their safety is just as important as the passengers.
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I also thought deontological approach was the best one for this company as well. Before I even did research on Uber I didn’t even think about the drivers being harmed. I only knew so many stories that happen to the passengers. I agree with you Adrian that the drivers safety is just as important as the passengers.
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I agree that the drivers should receive a background check. Is there any way to review passengers prior to entering the ride. I know there is a passenger rating scale, but is there anyway to determine if a passenger is dangerous. That might be a huge invasion of privacy, but it could be the only thing that works in regards to that issue.
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Yes it is very important to do a background check for any job but this job needs it obviously done. James, that is a great question to even review passengers as well because they could be a threat to the driver too, which is a red flag.
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I also think the deontological approach works best for Uber. Their obligation and duty is to get a passenger safely from point A to point B. I also agree that background checks should be a necessity when hiring drivers and that drivers should be given a company camera to record their drives. I think recording drives should be mandatory, just like how the police now wears body cameras.
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Yes I totally agree with you, deontological works best with Uber by having duties and obligations for this company as a whole. Having background checks makes it more secure on who you actually are hiring and also having cameras in the drivers vehicles will help the transportation service be more secure for the passengers and even for the drivers as well.
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