Essay Example on Uber Company's Unethical Practices

The news article, "Uber admits underpaying New York City drivers by millions of dollars," provides information about some of the instances where the Uber Company has violated the required ethical values in the society. As observed, Uber Company recently admitted to underpaying the New York City drivers through millions of dollars for nearly two and a half years. The underpayment occurred through taking a massive cut of the driver's wages instead of the amount they are entitled to them. As part of the company's terms of service, the company is entitled to a percentage of the commission that ranges between 20 and 25. This amount is further applicable after-tax deductions, as well as the local fee aimed at funding the benefits for the employees who might have gotten accidents. Instead of doing it the correct way, Uber calculated its commission based on the gross fare, a move whose decision resulted in more pay for the company and less for its drivers. This is undeniably the second time the company has admitted to underpaying its American drivers within the New York City and its environs. The company had to pay a refund to UberBlack divers based in other US states after exorbitantly charging them for nearly two years.

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Observably, the story presented in this case is a clear breach of the ethics and the guidelines that bind both the employer and employees. It demonstrates that the company has been avoiding its responsibility towards its drivers by neglecting the code of conduct and ethical code through involvement in unethical practices. Its fundamental objective is to expand and increase its market dominance across the world while ignoring its moral responsibility (Smith & McCormick, 2019).

Strategic planning forms a critical part of the decisions that a global company can make. Ideally, the expansion and gaining of the large market shares are crucial for any organization that wishes to gain a tremendous competitive advantage. While it is evident that Uber's strategic plan is to reach all the nations across the world and attract more drivers and customers, the unethical practice of underpaying its drivers is likely to affect this decision. For years, the company has been able to hide its bad behavior with the expensive marketing campaigns through the "We Just make the Technology" slogan. However, the combined powers of the whistleblowers and activists prompted the company to admit the involvement in the unethical practice.

A more strategic plan by the Uber can affect the unethical practice issue presented in the story by eliminating it and providing the company with an opportunity to expand and dominate the world. A more effective strategic plan does not entail involvement in unethical practices to gain a competitive advantage (Ma et al. 2018, April). It involves documentation and establishment of an appropriate direction for a given business through the assessment of where the company is and where it is going.

The strategic plan is, therefore, an effective way and platform for a company to record its mission, value as well as the vision. For Uber to expand, dominate the transport industry and gain a tremendous competitive advantage, the management should establish an excellent plan such as aligning its business models with the innovative operating practices with the focus of maximizing their revenue. This plan will also be crucial in optimizing the experience of both their employees and their passengers, who are primarily their main customers. A good reputation and brand are further likely to earn Uber a tremendous opportunity to attract more drivers and passengers within other locations where the company has not established its presence.

References

Ma, N. F., Yuan, C. W., Ghafurian, M., & Hanrahan, B. V. (2018, April). Using Stakeholder Theory to Examine Drivers' Stake in Uber. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-12).

Smith, N. C., & McCormick, E. (2019). Uber and the ethics of sharing: Exploring the societal promises and responsibilities of the sharing economy. In Managing Sustainable Business (pp. 575-607). Springer, Dordrecht. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-024-1144-7_27

Wong, J. C. (2017). 'Uber admits underpaying New York City drivers by millions of dollars'. The Guardian 23 March. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/23/uber-underpaid-drivers-new-york-city. (Accessed 10 April 2020)