Element One Portfolio - Uber - (Arjun) - R
Element One Portfolio - Uber - (Arjun) - R
Element One Portfolio - Uber - (Arjun) - R
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company was valued at US$ 82.4 billion and while being branded as the first mover in
International markets (de la Merced & Conger, 2019). The transportation giant had to face a
series of problems and a leadership crisis due to the incompetency of Kalanick. Mr. Kalanick’s
leadership style was authoritative and was criticized by the board of directors (CNN, 2019).
Travis Kalanick was aggressive with his goals and was ready to achieve them unethically
if that is what it took. Regardless of Uber’s legal affairs, it achieved global domination with its
presence in 900 cities and 71 countries (Uber Estimator, 2020). In terms of organizational
Leaders exhibit various versions of their leadership styles and capabilities. Mr.
Kalanick’s leadership style was flickering and never constant. He proved that he is a
transformational leader by continuously innovating his services, leading his company into high-
grade technology, and continually trying to infiltrate into new potential markets. As a
charismatic leader, he inspired and motivated his employees to undertake any strategy that would
The prime issues in Uber under CEO Travis Kalanick were low organizational culture,
lack of critical positions within the company, and unethical competition in the market. Other
issues identified within Uber include corrupt practices such as sexual harassment and lack of
diversity.
According to Kleinman (2017), Mr. Kalanick indulged in a series of avoidable issues that
pulled him down from his reign (Kleinman, 2017). The authors highlight that some of the Uber
operations have to exercise destructive behaviors under Travis Kalanick. For example, the New
York Times that the company’s employees have been using a “secret program” called Greyball
to hide from regulators (The New York Times, 2017). Based on this analysis, Travis Kalanick’s
and supervision. Hook (2017) supports that poor leadership is the reason why Uber has put into
practice low organizational culture (Hook (2017). For example, sexual harassment issues that
have been raised over the company and CEO Kalanick being caught on camera arguing with
employee overpayments and other issues depict poor leadership skills. In this case, there is a gap
between present culture and future goals, and leadership is the main issue that has contributed to
low corporate or organizational culture. For example, some values of the corporation support
Uber follows a strict value system that emphasizes growth at all costs disregarding
possible outcomes of incorporating values on cult personality and sexism (Todd (2019). The
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culture does not follow the hierarchy system. According to Todd (2019), Uber has a toxic
discrimination based on gender alongside the support of other harmful behaviors. The general
rule is that leaders are expected to guide employees towards achieving the goals of the company.
Still, as it is, CEO Travis Kalanick played a more significant role in allowing toxic cultures to
fester at Uber.
Winsor (2021) highlights more than 6000 incidents of reported sexual assault in 2017 and
2018 related to Uber in its new safety report. These are unethical issues that would affect the
company's reputation in one way or another (Winsor, 2021). This explains why the company has
high employee turnover due to reports of rape. Based on the information, 92% of the victims are
the riders which 7% are the drivers, where women and females are of higher numbers with a
Transactional leaders enhance compliance using punishments and rewards, and Uber’s
aggressive leader who fought to ensure that those working in the corporation did not deviate
from predetermined goals and objectives. Hook (2017) reiterates that CEO Travis Kalanick
would do anything to ensure that its goals and objectives are achieved (Hook, 2017). However,
the employees' effect includes pressure, demotivation, and lack of morale to undertake tasks. For
example, more than 20 executives resigned during his leadership because of leadership issues
suffered a great deal because of failing to solve issues within the corporation (Newcomer (2017).
His leadership cost the company a great deal from reputation, losing customers to legal
settlements leading to loss of finances to lawsuits and poor performances. As highlighted, several
issues were raised concerning his leadership for engaging in unethical competition in the
industry and allegations supporting sexual harassment and discrimination within the company.
For example, Newcomer (2017) explains that Uber paid hackers to delete stolen data, one of the
Learning Outcome 3: Hofstede’s cultural dimension, Leadership theory, skills and traits,
differences in cultures across different countries. Its main cultural dimensions are power
particularism. Global leadership needs all leaders to maintain the highest degree of a worldwide
mindset (Winsor, 2021). Leaders should be able to work effectively and comfortably in different
cultural environments. In the case of Uber, which operates in the United States, which is well-
known for its multiculturalism due to diverse cultures, Kalanick was expected to value all
cultures. However, his leadership was different because it did not respect other cultures.
Kalanick went wrong in his leadership because he did not accept status and power differences
among other executives alongside Uber leaders. This is depicted by the high power distance
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between him and other company leaders, which created inequalities and steep hierarchies.
Kalanick supported an organizational culture that did not follow the hierarchy system.
The trait theory identifies diverse personality traits and features associated with
successful leadership across various situations (Kleinman, 2017). According to this theory, a
accountability, energy, and alertness to the social environment. The leaders need to be visionary
MIT entrepreneurs (2015) highlights that Travis Kalanick was energetic, visionary, self-
confident, decisive, assertive, and dominant. Kalanick is described as an active leader because he
understood the company's purpose and knew the purpose of the corporation was broader than
making profits (MIT entrepreneurs, 2015). He knew creating value by being visionary and
confident was the only way to influence employees' goals. However, Kalanick failed in his
leadership because he could not take responsibility and accountability for his administration
Future skills that employers would want to include emotional intelligence, tech-
savviness, conflict resolution, problem-solving capabilities, leadership skills, and written and
verbal communication (Winsor, 2021). Gender influence communication in one way or the
other. Women consider communication as a way to create friendships and building relationships.
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At the same time, men view it as a way to negotiate for power, avoid failure, offer advice, and
Kalanick should improve its leadership skills and organizational skills to promote unity
universalism, and diffuse culture within the corporation (Kleinman, 2017). Also, a safer
environment should be provided where employees are free to air their views and problems. On
the same note, organizational culture needs to be improved to eliminate negative behaviors of
democratic leadership, where democracy is observed across the corporation. Democracy has a
strong correlation with development and growth, especially in the facet of business (Winsor,
2021). Transformational leadership style tends to overlook details and focus on the bigger
picture creating gaps within the organization. Applying a democratic leadership style will allow
individualism. Unlike Kalanick, who does not want to take responsibility and accountability for
Reflection
leadership style is the most effective leadership style (Newcomer (2017). Compared to
Kalanick’s leadership style, democratic leadership gives room for efficient problem solving,
building team relations, enhances workable management hierarchies, and facilitates a strong and
clear vision for the future alongside inviting higher commitment levels. I would encourage
References
Chen, K. (2007). The Value of Flexible Work: Evidence from Uber Drivers [Ebook]. Retrieved 8
https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty_pages/keith.chen/papers/Final_NBER17.pdf.
CNN, B. (2019). Meet the CEO taking Uber public. CNN. Retrieved 8 January 2021, from
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/10/tech/uber-ceo-dara-khosrowshahi-ipo/index.html.
de la Merced, M., & Conger, K. (2019). Uber Prices I.P.O. at $45 a Share, Valuing It at $82.4
https://technologyjobsnyc.wordpress.com/2019/05/09/uber-prices-i-p-o-at-45-a-share-
valuing-it-at-82-4-billion-by-michael-j-de-la-merced-and-kate-conger-2/.
Hook, L. (2017). Uber: “the crisis inside the ‘cult of Travis.’ [Online] Ft.com. Retrieved 8
Kleinman, Z. (2017). Uber: The scandals that drove Travis Kalanick out. BBC News. Retrieved
MIT entrepreneurs, U. (2015). Uber CEO’s eight traits of great entrepreneurs | MIT Sloan. MIT
matter/uber-ceos-eight-traits-great-entrepreneurs.
Newcomer, E. (2017). Uber paid to delete stolen data on 57 million people. Retrieved 8 January
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The New York Times. (, 2017). Uber uses 'secret program' Greyball to hide from regulators.
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Todd, S. (2019). Uber’s IPO is a lesson in the true cost of a toxic culture. Quartz at Work.
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Winsor, M. (2021). Uber reveals nearly 6,000 incidents of sexual assaults in the new safety
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/uber-reveals-6000-incidents-sexual-assaults-safety-
report/story?id=67538499.