Uber Technologies, Inc.

Introduction to
Information
Systems
Student ID, Student Name

Level 4, Block 2

Word Count: 3,019

Task 1. Company Analysis:
1.1. Introduction and Competitive Strategies:
Uber is a renowned US based car rental firm that is popular for its unique car hiring
technique across the world. With headquarters in San Francisco, the company is
diversified into various businesses including Uber Eats (food delivery), logistics,
transportation etc. The company has adopted to the most unique way to enhance their
offering to the customers. The company makes use of an application which is
established for the customers for interacting and developing service agreement. Uber
has expanded to over 800 cities around the world and has expanded to several new
outlets. This has enabled the company to gain a strong hold in the market and to gain
a strong reputation. It was developed by two engineers namely Garrett Camp and
Travis Kalanick. The solution was developed by them using the technology and
employing the driver as well as business partners to make trips and earn money. The
new generation system of interaction has been utilized and this differentiated Uber
from the other brands. Some of the requisites for this model include smart phone,
application, internet connection and option for paying online. Similar infrastructure is
requisite for the driver and the GPS system is utilized for monitoring the performance
(Uber, 2020).
There is high level of customer satisfaction with this system since there is more
efficiency and fast response and this ensures that that the customers do not have to
keep waiting since there is instant reply. The IT system of Uber is very strong and that
is one of the main reasons for the immense success of the company. Due to the
success of the model, several companies around the world have adopted to this
model. The efficiency and the cost effectiveness of the firm has enhanced further due
to the rapid advancement of the technology such as enhancement of the GPS
application and preciseness. The main reason for the increased customer loyalty and
satisfaction with Uber is the reliability of the service and the provision of the service
throughout the day. It is also cost effective and the charges for the ride can be
analyzed prior to the initiation of the ride. The downtime for the drivers is lesser in this
system as compared to the traditional way and thus even drivers preferred being a
part of Uber (Uber, 2020).

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1.2. Mintzberg’s Classification:
The organisations of the economy are classified into five different categories as per
Henry Mintzberg and this includes machine, professional, divisional, innovative, and
simple structure.
Even though the existence of Uber in the market has not been extremely long, it has
managed to expand to over 60 countries around the world and to start up several
divisions. The company was initially set up as the ride sharing application, but the
company has various segments which meets different requirements of the customers.
Some of the brands of the company include Uber Eats (food delivery), Uber Jump
(rental of electric bikes), Advanced Technologies Group (self - driving wing), Uber
Freight (shipping and logistics division), Uber Health (healthcare division partnership),
Uber for Business (fulfilling travel requirements for business) and Uber Elevate (air
travel opportunities).

Figure 1. Various Segments of Uber

The two owners of the company were true entrepreneurs for being able to accomplish
their ideas even without seeking financial support. The model laid down by the owners
was the machine and this was developed into a simple structure. The proper team
was set up by the founders after the coming became renowned and structure was laid

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 down and the job function was assigned to it. Once the firm started to regain the
invested capital, the proper structure a form was developed, and professionalism was
introduced in the structure. Several professionals were recruited particularly in the
technical field so that a suitable business model could be developed for the firm. The
operation had to be divided after the expansion of Uber took place to various countries
across the world. Various people were appointed for managing the transaction volume
which was rapidly rising. Several creative strategies were used for adopting to the
growing volume (Chron, 2015)
1.3. Porter’s Value Chain Model:

Figure 2. Porter’s Value Chain Model with Primary and Secondary (Support) Activities

The Porter’s Value Chain was developed by Michael Porter and it can be described
as follows:
Primary Activities:
• Inbound logistics: The factors comprised in this are essential for the operation
of the company. Uber has contract with the driver and the vehicle companies
and does not purchase the vehicles or recruit the employees as full-time staff.
For Uber, the MIS is the inbound logistics and is based on the technology. The
data correlated to the drivers and the customers is necessary and the GPS is

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 used for sharing the information. The purchase of the furniture and other office
requirement is the physical needs or inbound logistics of Uber.
• Operations: Uber has simple operations which is less sophisticated and can
optimize the process value. The ride can be booked by the customers
depending on the data which is set in the online platform regarding the prices
and the close by drivers and then pay online. The customer centric computer
system is utilized in Uber app.
• Outbound logistics: The two aspects which are crucial at the end of the ride
with Uber is payment and rating. Cashless payment is enabled after the trip
and the customer must rate the ride. The output of Uber’s operation is the
excellent service provided by the company.
• Marketing and sales: Social media marketing have been mainly used by Uber
for advertising. Other than this, it makes us of billboard advertising, word of
mouth etc. The marketing is done such that it can entice the customers and the
drivers for the firm.
• Service: Uber is a company which emphasizes on service and thus the
satisfaction with the service is crucial for the firm. The analysis of the service is
done with the help of rating at the ride’s end. The app includes the help section
which acknowledges the different problems faced by the customers after the
ride (Research Methodology, 2018)

Support Activities:
• Firm Infrastructure: The services of Uber are widespread to over 700 cities
and it has developed a robust network of infrastructure. This includes the
offices of the company and the technical aspects of the firm which enables
booking. Also, the firm has a large vehicle fleet which assists in the
operations.
• Human Resource Management: The HR of Uber make a crucial part of
the company and it is inclusive of the drivers and the partnership which
make sure that the operations are going well. The drivers have the option
of signing up to the Uber App / website and connecting to the network. Uber

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 has been slammed in previous years for staff abuse and failure to give their
rights.
• Technology Development: Since the whole operation of the company is
based on the application, it is reliant on the technology and its
advancement. Various features are included in the application and this
includes payment options, reviews on the drivers, tracking etc.
• Procurement: Since Uber does not own any equipment, the procurement
in this company’s case is addition of more drivers and inventory. The
website and the application are utilized for the same and commission is
given to the drivers for each ride.

1.4. Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Model:

The Porter’s five forces model can be applied for Uber and this is as follows: (Expert
Writing Help, 2017):

Forces Strength of Explanation of the Strengths

Forces
Extent of High and Uber presently witnesses competition from Ola and
industry increasing Lyft in various markets. The services provided by
competition these competitors are very similar to that of Uber. As
there are new firms starting similar services, the
competitors of Uber are expected to increase. As there
is very low switching cost (in the form of changing the
app used in phone), the customers might switch to the
competitors. The firm not just has to compete for the
customers, it must compete for the drivers as well as
vehicles.
New entrant Less but Since Uber is based on technology, the ability of the
in the increasing firm to prevent other companies from imitating the
industry concept is very limited. Also, Uber has been
witnessing several legal repercussions in few

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 countries of operations and this would serve as the
competitive advantage for the new entrants. This
industry has less profitability due to the presence of
other riding options such as taxi but renowned brands
like Uber make it challenging for the brands to possess
strong capacity.
Supplier’s High The main supplier for Uber is drivers and the cars used
Bargaining by the firm and thus there is high bargaining power for
Power the drivers. This is because there are several driving
jobs available and they can switch to other companies.
Also, the profitability of Uber is impacted from the
variation in the petrol prices.
Customer’s High The riders are the consumers in case of Uber, and they
Bargaining possess high bargaining power since they have low
Power switching costs. Also, there is more information
pertaining to every option which can make it
challenging for Uber to uphold the loyalty of the
customers. It is also possible that the customers
possess their own vehicles, and this lowers the need
for the services of Uber.
Threat of Medium The threat of substitutes in case of Uber is due to the
substitute car sharing between the customers, utilizing the public
products transport and the conventional services offered by the
taxi. Uber cannot increase its charges due to the threat
which occurs from the conventional taxi services and
this lowers the profitability. There is lower threat from
the public transport since the customers using Uber
give more preference to private modes of transport.
There is threat of substitute products in the form of self
- driving options for transportation and rides.
Figure 3 Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Model

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Task 2. New Information System:
2.1. Identification / Requirements:
The core task of Uber is to manage the knowledge, which is acquired, regarding the
operations, customers, competitors, condition prevailing in the market etc. A
knowledge processing system can be defined as the information system which is
correlated to the information management. The enterprise performance management
is an extension and managed the central management of various business tasks. The
enterprise performance management is associated with the budgeting, planning and
the anticipating of the enterprise. The execution of Jedox at Uber will enable the
company to emphasize on the various aspects of the business and gain a
comprehensive insight of what is happening in each department. Jedox system gives
a convenient method for giving in the raw data which is stored centrally and accessed
in several devices and it is then presented in the form of report. (Jedox, 2020).

As per the Porter’s Value Chain, the technological advancement can be used for the
enhancement of the decision-making process.

Figure 4 Jedox Software Architecture

Stakeholders:
• Employees: the entry level employees of the hierarchy who can view the raw
data are authorized for giving the input to the system’s database. The technical
knowledge must be present among them. It is essential to make the

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 modifications in the Excel software and other Cloud associated software of the
system. The employees must possess the knowledge needed to manage this
system.
• Management: Uber’s management has a vital role to play in properly using the
system since the end users of data are created. The budget analysis has to be
done by the CFO and the modifications which the various departments present.
The different heads of the department must be able to use the report.
• Customers: The customers are unintended members who directly benefit from
the system. The customers would greatly benefit from the reports and better
decision making of the company as it leads to production of enhanced products
and services.
2.2. Rich Picture:

Figure 5 Rich picture showing all the concerns of stakeholders

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2.3. Process Model:

Figure 6 Process Model using the BPMN of the new information system

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2.4. DeLone-Mclean Model:

Figure 7 DeLone-McLean Model

• Quality of system: The system adopted will allow the data consolidation and
is accessible in various platforms including PC and mobiles. The Jedox web
will include the data and the data is present on the central database, which
allows better decision making.
• Information quality: The information can be offered to the decision makers by
giving comprehensive reports which can be modified for the purpose of adding
/ deleting data. It helps to merge data of different sources and gives processed
data. This is essential for the stakeholders.
• Service Quality: The system comprises of the advanced technology abilities
for modeling and planning. Online classes and tutorials are present which is
beneficial.
• Use: The motive for the usage of the system is to ensure enhanced decision-
making abilities and the merge the data of the different sources. The system

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 depicts the analysis of the differences in the performance and provides the
report associated with the different department like cost report, salesforce
report etc.
• User satisfaction: The aggregate satisfaction with the CXO managers raises
since it can view the detailed analysis of firm’s performance. This will lead to
enhanced customer service.
• Net benefits: Positive points: Jedox utilizes AI for assisting enhanced planning
and recognizing the upcoming trends. This assists the usage of Excel. This
implies that the company must make less investment for system initiation. It
benefits in functioning of the different department by providing various reports.
• Negative points: The technical knowledge and skills is vital for the modeling
and creation of the report. This may not be there is the current staff. The data
generated maybe too much if there is unnecessary data present in the report.
2.5. Pros and Cons:
Pros: The incorporation of the new system has positive implication, and this includes
automating the financial planning and the process of reporting. This helps to lower the
workload on the staff for Uber. The time which is needed for the routine tasks will be
lowered and this means that there will higher time which can be assigned for creativity
and expansion. Jedox gives integrated planning and leads to higher cross
departmental coordination. This allows each department to understand the
repercussion of their decision on the other departments as well. Every department has
to be presented the report about the performance and the forward route map. By
having the planning needs presented in a single platform, the entire process can be
streamlined. Jedox allows storage and access of the data in several languages around
the globe and this is beneficial since Uber has outlets in various countries around the
world. It leads to enhanced planning and recognizing the upcoming trends and it leads
to enhanced decision making (Jedox, 2020).
Cons: There are few negative implications for the company, and this includes rise in
the complexity of the entry of data and phases of report generation. Despite of creation
of the report, it is necessary to customize the reports so that it meets the requirements
of the company. The data generated would be too huge for Uber. The technical

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 knowledge and skills are vital for the modeling and creation of the report. This may
not be there is the current staff.

2.6. Success of new information system:

• Efficiency: This is the ability to generate the same output throughout with the
same input in the process. The system should be capable of saving the time
needed and the efforts required. This leads to enhanced firm’s productivity.
• Efficacy: This represents the measure if the system works. The Jedox system
will be capable of generating the work which has the potential to offer the
system’s users at all levels with the needed guidance regarding the proper
functioning and to make proper usage of the system. It will help in attaining the
needed outcome.
• Effectiveness: This shows if the anticipated outcome is attained and if the
report created by the system is beneficial for decision making or not. The firm
must be capable of analyzing the performance of the various department and
develop upcoming plans. This assists in taking well planned decisions and
gives a new sense of route. (Healtcare Economist, 2016)

2.7. Classification in new information system:

The Jedox system is a back-end system which is associated with the processing of
data and decision making. It will assist in the creation of the report and policy decision
of the top-level management. The decisions in the system will influence the suppliers
or drivers, other staff, and customers i.e. Riders.

Task 3. Conclusion:
There is a highly competitive environment of Uber and as depicted in the Porter’s
model, it can be imitated easily. The riders are the consumers in case of Uber, and
they possess high bargaining power since they have low switching costs. Using
competitive pricing and customer centric method has enabled Uber to be the suitable
online cab hiring. The suggested new system is Jedox for Uber. Jedox system gives
a convenient method for giving in the raw data which is stored centrally and accessed

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 in several devices and it is then presented in the form of report. Jedox gives integrated
planning and leads to higher cross departmental coordination. This allows each
department to understand the repercussion of their decision on the other departments
as well. Jedox allows storage and access of the data in several languages around the
globe and this is beneficial since Uber has outlets in various countries around the
world. It leads to enhanced planning and recognizing the upcoming trends and it leads
to enhanced decision making.
Task 4. Recommendations:
The recommended system leads to the report creation associated with the data of the
firm in the preceding times and gives guidance for the future. The technical knowledge
and skills are vital for the modeling and creation of the report. This may not be there
is the current staff. Thus, it is recommended for the firm to ensure that the staff with
technical training are hired. The data generated maybe too much if there is
unnecessary data present in the report. This must be avoided.

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References:

1. 8 ways. (2016). 2 Reasons why Uber has Achieved Immense Success. [Online]
Accessed from: https://www.8ways.ch/en/digital-news/2-reasons-why-uber-has-
achieved-immense
success#:~:text=This%20is%20all%20thanks%20to,incredibly%20successful%2
0for%20the%20company. [Accessed on 24th June 2020]

2. Chron. (2015). Mintzberg's Five Types of Organizational Structure. [Online]

Accessed from: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/mintzbergs-five-types-
organizational-structure-60119.html [Accessed on 24th June 2020]

3. Entrepreneur. (2017). How Uber Used a Simplified Business Model to Disrupt the
Taxi Industry. [Online] Accessed from:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/286683 [Accessed on 24th June 2020]

4. Expert Writing Help. (2017). Porter’s Five Forces Analysis on Uber. [Online]
Accessed from: https://expertwritinghelp.com/blog/2017/07/28/porters-five-
forces-analysis-uber/ [Accessed on 24th June 2020]

5. Innovation Tactics. (2018). Porter Five Forces - Example Uber. [Online]

Accessed from: https://innovationtactics.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/03/strategy-porter-five-forces-example-uber-min.png
[Accessed on 25th June 2020]

6. Research Methodology. (2018). Uber Value Chain Analysis. [Online] Accessed

from: https://research-methodology.net/uber-value-chain-analysis-2/ [Accessed
on 25th June 2020]

7. Uber. (2020). About Us. [Online] Accessed from:

https://www.uber.com/au/en/about/ [Accessed on 25th June 2020]

8. Uber Newsroom. (2020). Your Second First Trip. [Online] Accessed from:
https://www.uber.com/newsroom/your-second-first-trip/ [Accessed on 25th June
2020]
 9. Pick, F., & Dreher, J. (2015). Sustaining hierarchy – Uber isn’t sharing. King's
Review .

10. Varvarina, D., Barry, B., Phalla, P., & Sule, S. (n.d.). Case Study: Uber and its
Surcharge Policy.

11. Jedox. (2020). Enterprise Performance Management (EPM). [Online] Accessed

from: https://www.jedox.com/en/enterprise-performance-
management/#advantages [Accessed on 26th June 2020]

12. Jedox. (2020). Enterprise Planning Process Optimisation for GLobal

Corporations. [Online] Accessed from:
https://www.jedox.com/en/solutions/enterprise-planning/ [Accessed on 26th June
2020]

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