Response #1

Socialism is the economic system that advocates that the community as a whole should regulate production, distribution, and exchange. It is built on community interest and does not operate for personal profit or self-interest. "Economic planning should be centralized through government policy, not decentralized through market competition" (Fieser, J.).

Capitalism is the economic system that puts private owners in control of trade and industry. The stare does not control these things in the capitalism system. This system is motivate by self-profit and "economic planning should be decentralized through market competition, not centralized through government policy" (Fieser, J.).

Uber is a technology company that connects drivers with people that need rides. Uber does not hire drivers it simply puts them in contact with people that need rides. The rides are not regulated by the government and there is very little that goes to a middle man.

The laws that are in question with Uber are those around whether or not the drivers are employees or if they are contractors. Uber stands by their word that all they do is connect consumers with people who provide services. Without the drivers being employed by Uber, there are no restrictions on labor laws, hours, working conditions, hours worked... All of these are decided by the drivers themselves. They do not get paid by Uber for begin an Uber employee they get paid for providing a service and Uber provides the software that allows this to happen.

Uber is a $50-Billion company. They are a capitalistic enterprise that provides a program that is controlled by private owners for profit. The only reason Uber is a successful and wealthy company is because they get a small piece of the pie from every person using their service to par for a private contracted driver.I believe this is a great company. They did a really great job developing software that works very well. The ease of the application makes it very user friendly and overall it saves people a great deal of money. I believe the software company is an ethical business that developed something that people needed. If you look at Uber from a utilitarianism stand point, you can see that they capitalized on the needs of many which has a more positive impact than the negative impact on local taxi companies.

Resources:

Dr. Fieser, James, Introduction to Business Ethics, Second Edition. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

IJ Sales. (2014, February 4). What is Uber? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/pZBMo59iwPo

Steinmetz, K. (2015, June 17). Why the California ruling on Uber should frighten the sharing economy. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/3924941/uber-california-labor-commission-ruling/

Response #2

Economic System

The economic system around the laws that surround Uber and their controversy with the taxi companies is a mixed system of both capitalism and socialism. "Uber said it's drivers embrace their status as an independent contractor." Steinmetz, K. (2015) According to California's Department of Industrial Relations, to determine if a person is an independent contractor "the most significant factor to be considered is whether the person to whom service is rendered has control or the right to control worker both as to the work done and the manner and means in which it is performed." An independent contractor can be observed as a capitalist feature. Three characteristics of capitalism are "personal self-interest that motivates business activity, privately owned and not centralized by government policy." Fieser, J. (2015) Independent contractors by definition have control over their work so it promotes their self-interest, they own the work and because of that it does not fall under government regulations such as labor laws in terms of hours and wages. The socialism comes into play when regulations are enacted. "The California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates what it calls Transportation Network Companies like Uber, passed myriad new regulation, from rules as small as where pink mustaches on cars should go to as sweeping as stricter vehicle inspections." Rodriguez, J.F. (2016) Socialism says "community interest should motivate business and planning should be through government policy" Fieser, J. (2015) Passing regulations like those mentioned have the community in mind and they are implemented through public policy.

The Effect of Law on Uber

The laws in terms of independent contractors support the business model of Uber. Stated in multiple sources Uber claims to be a technology company that for a fee connects a driver and a rider. "In a statement to TIME, an Uber spokeswoman said ‘It's important to remember that the number one reason drivers choose to use Uber is the have complete flexibility and control.' She says. " Steinmetz, k. (2015) This means more profit for Uber because it does not have the expenses that come with employees such as taxes, insurance, vacation and benefits to name a few which is a completely capitalist idea. Should the pending lawsuits over classifying drivers as employees this would have a direct negative effect on their model with a loss of revenue to their bottom line.

Tying it together

In order to pursue a capitalist model, Uber will need to push the control over to the drivers in a more calculated way. Per the Huffington Post, "Uber dictates pay and other conditions." The more control and say Uber has over the expectations of the drivers the less they become independent contractors and the more they become employees. Employees are protected in a very socialist manner to ensure proper treatment.

Moral Position

As a business person with capitalist tendencies, I believe morally they are justified in their business model from the utilitarian view point. As I stated in my revised discussion one post, they are creating more happiness for more people. They have predicted riders would benefit from the service in terms of ease and cost, the drivers would have flexibility in their work schedules and the company has made significant profit. The effects on the drivers who feel they should be employees and those in the taxi industry while a significant number is still relatively small to those who are reaping the benefits of the business model. I could, however, with my community member hat on discuss my leanings toward them being morally wrong in terms of deontology. I feel that the confusing part of ethics is there is no wrong or right in terms of theory. I think most people would, like a mixed economy, have mixed opinions on the morality of ethical situations. Since the assignment has called for an explanation of one theory, I feel the utilitarian is the strongest explanation.

Resources

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_IndependentContractor.htm

Fieser, J. (2015). Introduction to business ethics [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ Chapters 2 and 3

http://www.sfexaminer.com/state-approves-sweeping-new-regulations-uber-lyft-delays-rules-leased-vehicles/

Steinmetz, K. (2015, June 17). Why the California ruling on Uber should frighten the sharing economy. Time. Retrieved from

http://time.com/3924941/uber-california-labor-commission-ruling/