#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

#4) What are other people (reporters, bloggers, editorializes, perhaps even government officials) saying about this issue? Write a blog that explores what other people are saying about the issue and what you think about their positions and insights or lack of a position or insight.

 From this ethical situation occurring with Uber many people have many different opinions pertaining with this issue:

• This document that I just shared down below is by a former employee explaining all about Uber’s ethical issues in a video and what her opinion is on this situation. 
• This is a good example because this individual was actually a worker herself and stated her opinion in depth and explained to the viewers all about the app and what has happened during this transportation service.

Source: 

Bensinger, G. (2019) When rides go wrong: How Uber’s investigations unit works to limit the company’s liability https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/25/ubers-investigations-unit-finds-what-went-wrong-rides-its-never-companys-fault

Another example:

• According to the Washington post, “Some riders and drivers have said that the company has been slow to respond to their complaints or hasn’t taken them seriously enough — feeling they’re in a he-said, she-said situation”(Siddiqui, 2019).
• This example is a huge issue. Uber needs to respond right away, apologize to the people and especially to the victims that it happened too. Uber needs a better way to back themselves up. For an example, having an audio recording or a camera in the vehicle at all times so the whole ride is on video tape to protect themselves.

Source:

Siddiqui, F. (2019). Uber plans to start audio-recording rides in the U.S. for safetyhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/11/20/uber-plans-start-audio-recording-rides-us-safety

The last example:

This image is very intriguing. This graph is all about who the passenger wants to pick them up from their destination. From this chart, a lot of women want other women to pick them up rather than men. A woman could have bad intentions just like men. Women drivers could be not as safe either. To be honest for me, I do not go into an Uber alone to avoid situations like this to occur. For me, it doesn’t matter if there male or female picking me up if I am with a group of people, because I feel more safe rather than being by myself.

Source:

Alarms.org (2020). Is Uber safe? How safe are Uber and Lyft for Women? https://www.alarms.org/uber-lyft-womens-safety-report/

#3) What is the company saying about the ethical situation? How are they explaining their actions, their lack of action, or their reaction? What do you think about their approach to the issue or problem? 

Unfortunately, they are not saying much or even admitting to these ethical situations. Many situations on the safety of the passengers, security of drivers and the privacy issues are just sidestepping the situation as a whole. The reason I personally think they do not say much is because it will cause a lawsuit if they do. But also, it is not okay to slide these situations under the rug because they are affecting lives and something needs to be done as soon as possible. 

They aren’t saying much on the current situations that are occurring but they’ve had on their Uber app if you are unsafe or feeling uncomfortable you can call 911 on the Uber app or even share your location to your family and friends. So yes they aren’t really saying much on these ethical issues but they could go back themselves up by saying if the passengers or even the driver were unsafe in this transportation service they could have used this app to avoid these ethical dilemmas.  

Source:

Hawkins, A. (2017) How Uber can emerge from its scandals as a more ethical company https://www.theverge.com/2017/630/15904510/uber-open-letter-board-ethical-recommendations

#2.) Give background information about the company and its operations. Please consult the company website and other media sources. Consult the mission and vision statement of the company, as well as their official corporate history.

The Background Information on Uber:

Uber is a well known service that is useful to anyone. Their demographic is any age who needs a ride to point A to point B. Uber is very convenient and useful especially when an individual has been drinking or if someone doesn’t own a car. From this being invented less people are drinking and driving and it is easier to have an uber driver come pick individuals up using the app. This app shows where the customers destination is, who the Uber driver is, what kind of vehicle they will be driving and how far away they are from your destination.                   

Uber’s company website:          

Mainly this website entails:

• Explaining how the process and app works

• Showing customers that safety comes first
  • “We recognize that every time you open your Uber app, you’re putting your trust in our technology—to not only connect you with a driver, but to also give you resources in case of emergency. That trust is what drives us to continuously raise the bar, building new safety features, setting guidelines for respectful and positive experiences, and more”.

Uber’s History: 

To start off, Uber was founded in 2009 by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick under the name UberCab. The reason why this was invented is because Camp recently spent $800.00 on hiring a private car to take him back to his destination on the night of New Years Eve and thought it was crazy how much he spent. He was trying to figure out another way he could make the service more affordable. Camp realized having multiple people in an individual’s party can bring down the cost as a whole. The amount of success Uber has been able to achieve in their short history is remarkable.  

In 2010, Ryan Graves ended up becoming the Company’s CEO. The name was Ubercab and then eventually got shortened to Uber in 2011. Uber Cabs logo from the start was UC but then they thought about making it just Uber and not having a dark scheme. They thought about making it more modern and luxurious over all. Another year passed which made it 2012 and added UberX. UberX is a service that individuals were allowed to use their own cars to transport individuals. Uber has become well known and popular over the years. This transportation service is operated in three hundred cities across six continents. 

History of the Uber Logo

The Uber logo has played an important role in the company’s design. Uber’s Mission statement is to convey the message to their customer and to show that Uber’s logo is an important tool that they are trying to use as well. 

Logo In 2020 is presented above

Vision statement- We welcome people from all backgrounds who seek the opportunity to help build a future where everyone and everything can move independently.

Uber’s Values- 

• Build globally, we live locally
• Act like owners
• Persevere
• Value ideas over hierarchy
• Make Big bold bets

Mission statement–

• “We ignite opportunity by setting the world in motion”.

• “Transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone”.

Sources:

https://www.comparably.com/companies/uber/mission

mission-statement.com/uber/

https://www.uber.com/us/en/about/

#1.) Identify an ethical situation confronting a company that is currently being discussed or reported on in the media and describe the ethical dilemma:

The ethical situation that I will be discussing throughout this blog is a company that is currently being discussed on the media/news. The company that I will be talking about is Uber. As we know, Uber is very new and popular. This transportation service has many advantages but unfortunately it comes with some disadvantages that are affecting this company as a whole. “The ethical situation that is occurring with Uber is facing several lawsuits and protests all over the world, about this company. Uber has been avoiding its responsibility towards society by neglecting it’s code of conduct and ethical code by participating in unethical practices”. What makes this a serious issue, is that their main goal is to expand and increase its market share and ignore these problems as a whole. 

The ethical Issues that are occurring with this transportation service are:

• Passenger Safety- sexual harassment and sexually assault is occurring from the drivers to the passengers
• The security of drivers issues- beating up the driver, misbehaving with the drivers and assaults are happening as well
• Privacy- Uber drivers are being accused of keeping track of their customers locations, from the help of their phones.

The ethical situation pertaining to Uber is mainly focusing on the lack of safety. All three of these categories are a little different but fall under the umbrella of safety.

Source: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/uber-ethical-issues.php