As a government, the hardest thing to do is to maintain balance. From balancing budgets, to balancing freedom and security, it always seems that the most difficulties come from decisions requiring important choices. This was seen recently with Uber. The ride share company has faced dozens of lawsuits and is no stranger to opposition towards their method of operating. The largest opponents have been the taxi industry, and on September 22, 2017, they were handed a heavy loss, as the city of London banned Uber from operating (BBC, 2017).

Since the inception of Uber many questions have arisen around it’s safety. There have been multiple reports in numerous countries of assault from Uber passengers. In 2015, Uber was banned from New Delhi after a driver raped a customer (BBC, 2017). Moreover, Uber has had a myriad of PR nightmares this year, with both upper management and employees. Sam Levin (2017) reported that Uber was involved in a sexism scandal with a hiring manger after the latter declared that “sexism is systematic in the tech industry”. Despite all the scandals, Uber has over 3 million users and 40’000 drivers in London (BBC,2017), many of which were angered by the fact that the local government acted against Uber.

The decision to end Uber’s license in London was a difficult one. Despite Uber’s innovative system that provides an incredibly affordable alternative to taxi services, it is also a disorganised, mismanaged corporation. Last October, a British tribunal declared that Uber drivers were not self-employed, but rather they were employees of Uber (BBC, 2016). Uber was now directly responsible for the conduct of their “employees”. The local government realized that Uber saw their employees as individual businesses and that they had a freelance attitude towards those businesses. The government determined that Uber was acting irresponsibly by treating them this way. They had to find a balance. A balance between the capitalist side of freedom of businesses to operate, but also the responsibility of citizens safety. Certain liberties must be restricted for the public to be safe, and Uber faced the full effects of this decision. Despite that fact that most users were not happy, as the taxi service is expensive, this decision is ultimately for the greater good.

The main issue with Uber is that there are many grey areas in their industry which offer them legal leeway and little accountability. However, there is a lot of hope for Uber to exist in major cities. For that to happen, many jurisdictional and legal changes must occur, things Uber cannot directly change themselves. Perhaps that is the most frustrating thing to consumers, the fact that there is little they can do.

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References:
Levin, S. (2017, March 24). Uber manager told female engineer that ‘sexism is systemic in tech’. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/24/uber-manager-sexism-systemic-tech-kamilah-taylor
Uber London loses licence to operate. (2017, September 22). Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-41358640
Johnston, C. (2016, October 28). Uber drivers win key employment case. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37802386

Social responsibility is a term that appears to be utopian in today’s modern world. It seems that these days, the larger a company gets, the more its goals become solely about profit. There is no doubt that a corporation should mainly focus around making profit-in fact, that motivation is what has helped advance our industries over the past 100 years-however, there has always been a certain ethical standard surrounding the way that companies make profit. Does a company really need to be ethical, and to what extent?

Earlier this year, Perrigo Co. was found at the center of a scandal after authorities found that the world’s largest over-the-counter drug company was colluding with other smaller companies to create an unfair market price for pharmaceutical drugs. Whenever price collusion occurs, it always seems that pharmaceutical companies and other health care related corporations get the most public scrutiny. The notion that certain companies are purposely restricting access to medication for the sick is one that, excuse the pun, makes most sick. Certain corporations “might [exist] for an eleemosynary purpose – for example, a hospital or a school…such a corporation will not have money profit as [it’s] objective but the rendering of certain services.”[1] Many apply this argument to pharmaceutical companies, since they have a relatively inelastic good, one that is vital to many people’s health. Their practice should not only be ethical towards their stakeholders, but also to their market. Price collusion is something that does not allow the market to operate and adjust freely. It reduces competition and creates a negative image for every company involved. Not only is it immoral to society, it is also unethical to business.

There is an expectation by the public that a business will comply with laws and-hopefully-act in an ethical manner. The question that arises, however, is how much of an effect should ethics have on a business’s practices? The answer ties back to the type of business, and the public exposure said business has. A corporation that is a household name or provides a vital service is more likely to act ethically in order to maintain its PR image and maintain a fair market. Other companies that are smaller may feel they can get away with unethical practices, yet that shouldn’t be the case. Ethics should have a large impact on the decision making of a company, since those decisions usually impact employees, stakeholders, and the image of the company. Ultimately, practicing ethical business is the best way for a company to show social responsibility.

[1] Zimmerli, Walther Ch., et al. Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance. Springer, 2010.

Information about Perrigo Co.:
Chen, Caroline. “Perrigo Offices Searched by U.S. Agents in Drug Price Probe.”Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 2 May 2017, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-03/perrigo-offices-searched-by-justice-department-in-drugs-probe.

Photos:
http://www.algonquincollege.com/hr/benefits/ehcs/over-the-counter-drugs/
https://www.trustedclothes.com/blog/2016/06/01/corporate-social-responsibility-is-good-for-business/

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