Uber Leaks: An Ethical Concern
Select a case or issue with a challenging ethical problem from current news (the past six months). Read and follow the guideline.
Please answer all questions in the framework/ outline.
Overview This is your opportunity to hone your skills in applying human values to the challenges of business leadership. Select a case or issue with a challenging ethical problem either from current news (the past six months). Conduct an ethical analysis, and develop and justify an action plan that addresses the ethical challenges in the case. Then, develop an action plan to address that ethical challenge. Learning Objective Reflect on your moral development and articulate a thoughtfully reasoned system of values, principles, and practices as a values framework for business leadership. Guidelines • The Final Case Brief is a formal paper eight to ten pages long (doublespaced, Times New Roman, 12-point-font). • Please use the tools, methods, and frameworks from the course as well as your own independent inquiry and thought. You may consult any and all learning materials from the course and elsewhere. You may consult and discuss the case with others. However, your written brief must be entirely your own work. • If you use sources, which we encourage you to do for this assignment, credit and cite them in APA format. o The page count does not include the reference page, which can take an additional page or pages. Tips Choose your case and begin thinking about the Final Case Brief during the first few weeks of the course, so that you will be ready to focus on it as soon as you complete your Moral Compass Essay in Module 4. Follow each step of the Final Case Brief Framework. Adapt the framework to your particular case. Address each relevant question as you see fit. Consider critiquing your own work using the rubric to help you improve your final draft. Grading You are conducting an ethical analysis for the purpose of developing an action plan. We will grade your brief based on how well you frame the problem, the efficacy of your arguments, and the evidence and expertise you apply to support your proposed solutions. We will consider your choice of a problem, its complexity, and its relevance for contemporary business as we grade your assignment. It is in your best interest to choose a unique, complex, current problem which is relevant to business in some way. Please choose a case or issue that that you are very interested in investigating, to develop your skill in analyzing a moral challenge. The Framework below is in an outline form. Be sure to address each question below and be sure to write your Final Case Brief in an essay format. You may use headings below such as "Key Facts" and "Ethical Analysis" but it is in no way required. Neither is it required to address the questions below in the order they are in below. Final Case Brief Framework/Outline 1. Title of the Case (How will you identify this case?) 2. Case Overview: “Big picture” interpretation of the case in one or two sentences. How would you characterize the moral challenge of this case? Why is this case morally important? 3. Key Facts A. Your factual discovery of key events, actors, and evidence: What relevant events, people, and evidence are key to understanding the situation or problem? B. What contextual and technical knowledge do you need to consider? C. What are your sources for the facts of the case and how reliable are they? 4. Ethical Analysis: Your interpretation of the values conflict or moral challenge. A. What is the main moral issue in this case? What is at stake? What is the moral urgency? (Uncertainty, risk, danger) B. Who is the key moral actor in this case? Whose actions and decisions determine the moral resolution of this case? C. What is your intuitive moral judgment of the issue? What foundational moral values are involved? (CARE, LIBERTY, FAIRNESS, LOYALTY, AUTHORITY, SANCTITY) D. How do values and moral judgments conflict? Is it a right/right or right/wrong conflict? What type of right/right? E. Is the moral issue with an action, the means of action, or the intent of an action? F. What normative moral claims and standpoints of VIRTUE (character, common good),DUTY (principle, moral claims), and CONSEQUENCES (outcomes, harm, cost, benefit)should you consider in evaluating the moral challenge? G. How would you apply the values and code of your wisdom tradition to understand and explain the moral issue? H. How does the moral challenge align/conflict with your Wisdom Tradition? I. What similar cases or situations are useful as analogues for evaluating this case? 5. Stakeholder Analysis: Your interpretation of stakeholder interests in light of precedents, context, and evidence. A. Who are the stakeholders (individuals, groups, or entities) whose values, moral claims,and duties constitute the moral challenge of the case? B. What values, Wisdom Traditions,and moral arguments support their claims? How valid and sound are those claims? C. What competing or contested values, claims, or duties complicate this case? D. Which stakeholders have more urgent and compelling claims? Why? 6. Option Analysis: Your interpretation of options. *** BE sure to present 2-3 well thought out possible options.*** A. What are the feasible options for the key moral actor to consider in resolving the moral problem? B. On what grounds are they morally justified? 7. Decision: Your action recommendation. Which of the options in the Option Analysis do you recommend or would you recommend a combination of them? A. Which option is the most ethical, and on what grounds? B. How does the action express/reflect your core values? 8. Summary Argument: Your argument in brief. Summarize the best decision option or action plan persuasively in fewer than 25 words. Sources: Again, be sure to include current sources and cite them correctly using APA format
Uber Leaks: An Ethical Concern
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Table of Contents 1. Uber Broke Laws by Thwarting Government Raids. 3 2. Case Overview.. 3 2.1 Interpretation. 3 2.2 Moral Challenge. 3 2.3 Moral Importance of the Case. 3 3. Key Facts. 3 3.1 Factual Discovery of Key Events. 3 3.2 Contextual and Technical Knowledge. 4 3.3 Sources of Facts. 4 4. Ethical Analysis. 4 4.1 Moral Issue in the Case. 4 4.2 Key Moral Actors. 5 4.3 Intuitive Moral Judgment 5 4.4 Values and Moral Judgments Conflict 5 4.5 Moral Issue with Uber 6 4.6 Normative Moral Claims. 6 4.7 Values and Code of Wisdom Tradition. 7 4.8 Moral Challenge and Wisdom Tradition. 8 4.9 Similar Cases. 8 5. Stakeholder Analysis. 9 5.1 Stakeholders. 9 5.2 Values, Wisdom Traditions, and Moral Arguments. 9 5.3 Competing Values. 9 5.4 Urgent and Compelling Claims of Stakeholders. 9 6. Option Analysis. 10 6.1 Feasible Options for the Key Moral Actors. 10 6.2 Justification. 10 7. Decision. 10 7.1 Most Ethical Option. 10 7.2 Actions Reflect Core Values. 10 8. Summary Argument 11 References. 12 Uber Broke Laws by Thwarting Government Raids
Case Overview
Interpretation
Uber broke laws and duped police secretly by aiding the Uber lobby. The company relies on a kill switch to stop police from analyzing the data. Over 124,000 leaked documents reveal that the company exploited violence against drivers and governments worldwide during its expansion phase (Davies et al., 2022).
Moral Challenge
The moral challenge in the case is whether it is morally correct to leak stakeholders’ personal information to increase revenue.
Moral Importance of the Case
The case is essential as it discusses the moral dilemma in modern businesses. For example, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is necessary to create corporate and common values worldwide. Now, businesses have to struggle to pursue ethical guidelines to protect the privacy and confidentiality of their stakeholders. Stakeholders influenced by the companies’ unethical activities might raise a voice against the business, which ultimately harms social instability. Hence, the case would be analyzed to reflect leadership and human value (Davies et al., 2022).
Key Facts
Factual Discovery of Key Events
In recent years, Uber has become one of the most popular ways to get around in cities worldwide. However, a new leak of internal documents has revealed that the company has been breaking laws, duping police, and secretly lobbying governments. A cache of internal documents revealed that Uber broke laws, duped police, and secretly lobbied governments worldwide. The revelations come from a leak of over 7,000 pages of documents to BuzzFeed News (Davies et al., 2022).
The documents show that Uber operated recklessly and often illegally to gain dominance in the ride-hailing market. In many cases, the company used its technological prowess to evade law enforcement and skirt regulations. In one instance, Uber created a software tool called “Greyball” to deceive government officials trying to shut down the company’s operations. In another, Uber dispatched a team of lobbyists to Advise City Hall on how to undermine taxi regulations (Siddiqui & Menn, 2022).
Contextual and Technical Knowledge
According to a recent report, Uber has been breaking the law, duping police, and secretly lobbying governments. It is a massive problem for the company, as it questions its business practices and ethics. While Uber denied these allegations, the leaked information paints a different picture. Technical knowledge needs to be considered from news web pages (Carroll, 2021).
Sources of Facts
The two sources of evidence are the Guardian and Bloomberg, which have reliable sources of information because of their credibility. These sources describe in detail the ethical issues and concerns conducted by Uber.
Ethical Analysis
Moral Issue in the Case
The main moral issue, in this case, is that Uber broke the law and deceived the police. What is at stake is the safety of the public and the trustworthiness of Uber. The moral urgency is to make sure that Uber is held accountable for its actions and that it cannot get away with breaking the law (Ferrell et al., 2019).
Key Moral Actors
When it comes to the case of Uber breaking laws, duping police, and secretly lobbying governments, it is clear that the critical moral actor is Uber. Their actions and decisions have led to the current situation, and it is up to them to resolve the matter morally. It is important to note that while other parties may be involved in this case, such as the police or government officials, Uber is ultimately responsible for its actions. It means that they must take responsibility for their wrongdoing and make things right in a way that upholds moral values (Siddiqui & Menn, 2022).
One key question that must be addressed in this case is whether or not Uber knew that they were breaking the law when they engaged in these activities. If they did know, their actions would be even more reprehensible and must be held accountable accordingly. However, if they did not know, then they could be forgiven and given a chance to redeem themselves. In either case, Uber must take responsibility for its actions and work to resolve the situation in a moral way (Carroll, 2021).
Intuitive Moral Judgment
The intuitive moral judgment of the issue is that Uber broke laws, duped police, and secretly lobbied governments. The foundational moral values involved are honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness.
Values and Moral Judgments Conflict
There is no doubt that Uber has disrupted the transportation industry. However, a new leak of internal documents reveals that the company also has broken laws, deceived police, and secretly lobbied governments worldwide. Some of the most damning revelations include:
* In 2014, Uber launched a sneaky software program called “Greyball” to deceive authorities in markets where its service was illegal. The program would show fake versions of the Uber app to officials, making it appear that no cars were available for hire (Davies et al., 2022).
* In 2015, an Uber executive suggested using “dirty tricks” against Lyft, its main competitor. It included creating fake Lyft accounts to order and cancel rides, artificially inflating Lyft’s costs (Davies et al., 2022).
* In 2016, Uber used a secret “Hell” tool to track Lyft drivers and poach them for Uber (Davies et al., 2022).
* In some cases, Uber has worked with local law enforcement to help them track dow...