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Uber: Its Background, Vision & Mission Statements

Department of Clinical Psychology, UMT

MG-120 Principles Of Management

Uber: Its Background, Vision & Mission Statements

Uber is currently operating in 900 metropolitan countries worldwide though it has had a

very interesting journey with many ups and downs in the 12 years since being launched back in

2009 (Blystone 2021). The company Uber, then called Uber Cab, was launched in San Francisco

by the founders Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick. Within a few months, the Uber cab was

renamed Uber. The name Uber has its association with a German word meaning "above all the

rest" which was the essence of the company. According to Blystone (2021), “The Uber startup

came from a simple idea: what if you could request a ride merely from your mobile phone?”.

They approached the idea with a company client dynamic, that all you have to do as a rider to

find a ride in minutes is through a button on your cell phone.

According to Connell (2019), “Ryan Graves was Uber’s first employee and went on to

become the company’s first CEO in February 2010 but stepped down that same year though, by

2019, he owned 31.9 million shares in the company. After Graves stepped down, Kalanick took

over as the CEO till 2017.” By July 2012, UberX was launched as a cheaper option than the

initial black luxury cars that Uber provided. UberX allowed people to use non-luxury vehicles

subjected to background checks, insurance registration, and vehicle standards. By the start of

2013, 35 countries had UberX. By December 2013, Uber drivers joined up to file a lawsuit

against Uber, to be recognized as employees, and not mere contract workers. They argued that

they had the right to be considered employees under employment law and to be provided with

benefits and better wages (Goswami 2021). By 2014, Uber launched UberPool which enabled
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people to split the fare in a shared ride. It also launched UberEats which is a food delivery

service that young millennials took a liking to immediately.

O’Connell (2019) also mentioned that Uber had also been accused of tracking their

customers through a feature in the app called God’s View. Through it, they can access the

customer’s contacts to send advertisements to expand their market range and business interests.

Other than that, incidents of sexual harassment, assault, and murder are also posing to be a big

issue for the company, and hence to combat it, Uber is searching the criminal records of its

drivers and adding security features in the app itself. According to Blystone (2021), “On May

10, 2019, Uber went public in the new york exchange market. After the IPO, Uber's shares

dropped 11%, dubbed as the biggest IPO first-day dollar loss in US history”. The ongoing Covid

- 19 crisis has also had adverse effects on the company. Goswami, (2021) has, for instance, also

noted that Uber's ride-hailing business has dropped approximately by 80%, leading the company

to lay off more than 6,700 employees within a month. While UberEats has not been affected the

same.

The current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has stated that Uber is reshuffling some of its

divisions and it will be closing 45 offices worldwide. He also announced in April 2021 that

UberEats will cater to accommodate a vaccinated public and that vaccination appointments could

also be facilitated through the application (Blystone 2021).

Moreover, Mission & Vision statements tend to be crucial for any sort of company. A

mission statement describes the company’s objective and the technique it may use to attain those

objectives. While a Vision statement is actually where they see their company in the future.

According to M. (2021), the mission statement Uber had was “We ignite opportunity by setting
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the world in motion.” Now moving on to the analysis of that statement Uber’s objectives are the

following:

Create Opportunity

This is not only for the riders per se them getting affordable rides but also for the drivers

who could be self-employed, especially in third-world countries where there is a lack of job

opportunities M. (2021).

Provide trusted transportation worldwide

It provides safety when traveling to destinations worldwide for all users. Uber operates

not merely in developing countries but has also made an appearance in underdeveloped countries

& developing countries. It ensures safety through thorough verification of its drivers as well as a

customer rating scale that acts as feedback to improve its services M. (2021).

The importance of motion

For Uber, the most important thing was that nobody lagged as the world state in motion

they had to make sure that everyone had the opportunity to not get stuck in traffic jams or vehicle

crises when trying to reach their destinations M. (2021).

According to V. (2021), the vision statement that Uber had was “Transportation as

reliable as running water everywhere for everyone” Now when we move on to further analyzing

this statement we understand that there are a few points that ought to be discussed here:

Reliable transportation

Uber is trying its level best to become the means of most reliable transportation all over

the globe reliable in terms of security, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency V. (2021).

Transportation for everyone

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Uber hopes to provide affordable transportation all over the globe from San Francisco to

the end of Africa. No one ought to be excluded from their services V. (2021).

Transportation everywhere

Uber envisions a world where transportation is everywhere for people to use as they

desire. Uber believes that it will help ease their daily lives as well as ensure economic

development V. (2021).

References

Blystone, D. (2021, January 10). The Story of Uber. Investopedia.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/111015/story-uber.asp.

Goswami, C. (2021, May 19). Uber Success Story - Know the History of Uber | Founders

| Acquisitions. StartupTalky. https://startuptalky.com/uber-story/.

M. (2021, January 27). Uber Mission Statement 2021 | Uber Mission & Vision Analysis.

Mission Statement. https://mission-statement.com/uber/.

O’Connell, B. (2020, January 2). History of Uber: Timeline and Facts. TheStreet.

https://www.thestreet.com/technology/history-of-uber-15028611.

Team, V. (2021, February 17). Uber Mission Statement & Vision Statement: An

Analysis. Visionary BusinessPerson. https://visionarybusinessperson.com/uber-mission-

statement/.