BUSADMX490.1-070
Organization and Management
Organizational Culture
Case #1 – Chapter 2: “Bad Ride, Bumpy Ride”
Name: Carla Herrera Cárdenas
This case is about how Organizational Culture can and will impact in overall outputs of any company. In this
opportunity the problems that this organization was confronted with were coming from inside. In 2017, triggered
by a social media post of one employee (Sara Fowler), Uber faced significant challenges related to its organizational
culture that gathered substantial public attention and criticism.
Travis Kalanick was founder and owner of this start up. Since it all started, he instilled a very particular set of values
and ways of working inside his organization. Prioritizing and giving attention solely to income growth, he forgot
about one of the most important topics for a top manager: its stakeholders.
He managed to grow enormously: nowadays Uber runs in more than 600 cities, has more than 14k employees and
it’s valued in 70 billion dollars. However, the cultural problem laid in the following:
Lack of customer orientation: Uber's aggressive and competitive culture was prioritized over focusing on providing
a positive customer experience. This was evident in reports of aggressive ways used to undermine competitors and
questionable treatment of customers, leading to a perception that Uber prioritized growth over user satisfaction.
Aggressive and competitive culture: Uber's competitive approach between people working inside the organization
impacted all internal dynamics. The company's corporate culture was described as “toe-stepping”, fostering a highpressure environment that could lead to unhealthy stress levels and employee burnout. This working environment
not only affected employee morale but surely influenced interactions with external stakeholders.
Workplace hostility towards women: Uber faced serious allegations of gender discrimination and harassment
within its workplace. Reports indicated that some female employees faced a hostile work environment, including
instances of sexual harassment. This not only highlighted issues related to gender inequality and lack of diversity
within the company but also demonstrated a failure to establish a safe and inclusive workplace for all employees.
Lack of Cultural Sensitivity: Uber's expansion into international markets was sometimes marked by a disregard for
local laws and regulations. This led to clashes with authorities in various countries and a perception that the
company operated without adequate respect for local laws and norms.
In these cases, when a successful company is at risk because its own behavior and way of doing business, decisions
need to be made. The board decided to separate Travis Kalanick to provide significant changes that could stop this
“reputational sinking”. They hired Dara Khosrowshani, former CEO of Expedia who took the lead to make those key
changes the company needed.
After reading and understanding the case I would suggest the following:
First, a customer-centered approach. Prioritize a collaborative way of working towards taking care of the most
vulnerable and valuable stakeholder. Safety while riding, comfort and quality of the service, the cleanliness of units
serving the passengers, etc. All the decisions inside the company should be made around these goals.
Customers are not only the passengers. The most valued partner that UBER has are the drivers. Although they will
need to undergo a very strict process of qualification, once they are in, they should be treated with respect and
BUSADMX490.1-070
Organization and Management
always be listened and protected. Safety issues for them should also be considered when making new
developments in the application.
Uber is used across the globe. This should be enough reason to provide a culture of inclusion and diversity. All
employees must feel valued and respected regardless of their nationality, culture, age, ethnicity, background, or
other factors. Sense of belonging should be promoted from top to bottom in multicultural environments.
Besides, a responsible approach of how the reach other markets. They need to develop a strong understanding of
the local laws and regulations, and values in each market where the company operates, have tailored business
strategies and practices to align with local expectations while maintaining adherence to ethical standards.
Instead of having a ruthless culture where competitiveness reaches the limit of physically “testing” yourself with
plank challenges against others, a culture of collaboration in which goals are achieved as a team for the good and
success of all is needed. An environment where employees support each other's growth and success should also be
promoted.
All these initiatives are needed and must be led by the human resources department with the complete support of
the top management. This area needs to be focused about this being mandatory. There is got to be a control
mechanism to address all these topics. Open dialogue and constructive feedback must be encouraged to identify
areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments. Unluckily, change management also suggests that people
that do not adhere to the new culture should be let go. The final goal is keeping the growth trend maintaining a
good reputation along.