CASE 2: Uber Hits a Bump in the Road., Page 349 from the textbook
For more details on the corporate culture of Uber, more detailed description of Uber and lead for research sources, please refer to the textbook
Uber’s rapid success is creating challenges in the form of legal and regulatory, social, and technical obstacles. The taxi industry for instance is arguing that Uber has an unfair advantage because it does not face the same licensing requirements as they do. Others accuse Uber of not vetting their drivers, creating potentially unsafe situations. Some major cities are banning ride sharing services like Uber because of these various concerns.
Regulation is a constant challenge for Uber. As it becomes more popular, Uber will become subject to more legal and regulatory requirements common to other big businesses. For instance, the American Disabilities Act is becoming a challenge for Uber. Since the Uber service is usually operated within a driver’s personal vehicle, many of the vehicles are not wheelchair friendly. Accusations have been levied against Uber for safety standards. Allegedly, Uber drivers were involved in 2 rapes in Chicago and Boston and a wrongful death suit in San Francisco. These lawsuits bring up the ethical issue of how much Uber should be responsible for its drivers as independent contractors.
Question of Ethical Challenge for this research project is Uber ethical in its business towards consumers and drivers or should there be more regulations to develop compliance with standards to protect consumers and drivers?
The topic: The topic of research for this paper is whether Uber should be held responsible for the safety and well-being of its customers or drivers.
The purpose of this paper: This paper will be a research of whether more should be done to protect Uber customers or drivers or customers or whether Uber is very ethical in caring about the well-being of its customers and/or drivers and doing all it can to protect customers and/or drivers.
Part IA: The Purpose of the Report and the Problem (one to three pages)
The Summary:
1. Who created Uber and why was Uber created
2. Has Uber had any lawsuits? If yes, what were some of the lawsuits brought against Uber?
3. Despite the legal challenges, why does Uber still remain popular?
4. What doo you hope to learn from researching this paper?
Part IB: The Research Experience (one to two pages)
Explain how you performed your research for the project by responding to the following questions:
1. What libraries did you use? (Plaza’s, Public Library or any other site).
2. Who assisted you at the library?
3. What books, periodicals (articles), websites, search engines, and databases were useful to you information literacy forms to help you with this section? Do not give any URL links. Mention the name of the website, books, periodicals. You must mention a minimum of 4 sources.
4. Please explain how each source that you found will help you in your research.