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MEMORANDUM
To: Board of Directors, Uber
From:
RE: A PROPOSAL TO CHANGE THE COMPANYS LEGAL OPERATIONS
Executive Summary
Uber has been hitting the headlines due to compliance issues such as bribery and
violation of law and order and these acts are capable of running the companys reputation and
demolish the success it has gained over the years. This memo therefore is a proposal to change
the legal operations of Uber Company by developing law abiding regulations, development of
competent employees through training and focusing on employees relations.
Background
In the recent past, the company has been making the headlines though for the wrong
reasons. The employees of the company have been involved in acts of ethics and laws violations
that threaten the accountability of the company to its customers. The recent one involve cases
where the company has been associated in bribery actions in five Asian countries namely India,
Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia and China (Smith, paragraph 2). According to Bloomberg, the
company broke oversees laws against bribery. The people said that the company may have used
its financial ability to influence law makers specifically in Malaysia. Fortune magazine gives an
incidence that occurred in late last year where Uber had located an office inside the city zoning
of Jakarta, Indonesia to support local drivers. The employee is said to have been giving the
police some cash to avoid being vindicated (Newcomer, paragraph 5).
According to an article by New York Times, 2017, Mark explains a program developed
by the Uber legal department and is aimed at evading the authorities of the city its operating.
The program known as, Greyball analyses a clients profile through different avenues to
determine whether they have any links with the authority. If the Greyball gives positive results,
then the program creates virtual cars showing unavailability of a car for the client (Mike,
paragraph 2). Most states have considered the act as a computer fraud designed to obstruct
justice.
The problem
Basically, the problem is not in the perpetrators of the crimes but it is the in the whole
legal system of the Uber Company. The companys legal system does not stress on the
importance of observing the rules and laws of the place where they exercise their business. On
the contrary, focus is on thriving in the business at the expense of factors such as breaking the
law. Further, the companys legal system is lenient on the requirements for one to be recruited as
an Uber driver.
Clearly, the problems facing Uber are embedded in its culture because according to Mike,
(paragraph 1) the company has always had problems with the law. However, it has a culture of
always going head to head with the lawmakers and find its way out. Thus, it has no culture of
keeping up with the rules and laws of the place where it operates. Moreover, according to Mike,
any driver that passes the background checks becomes qualified to use UberX (Mike, 6). This
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shows that the company is complacent in scrutinizing aspects like the criminal history of an
individual that may compromise their eligibility to the task.
Importance of the problem
If nothing is done to handle the problem at the company, it will continue to form negative
headlines. Regular bad reports about the company tarnishes its reputation and this alters the
confidence the public has in its operations. Tarnishing the companys name will greatly affect its
competitive advantage.
In addition, legal disruptions affect the operations of the company as much time is spent
figuring out how to win in a law suit. A lot of resources are also used in the attempts not to lose
the cases filed against them. The time and resources could be used for other activities such as
coming up with innovations and better ways of serving their customers.
Lastly, if nothing is done to change the companys legal operations, it will continue to get
into trouble with the authority. Mike cited some cities such as Texas where the company had the
authority trailing them and in some cases, some have banned their operations. If the trend
continues, the company may lack approval in the cities where it is planning to open its branches.
Proposal
There is an urgent need for the Uber Company to change its legal operations. Changing
the legal operations for a company as big as Uber is not a simple task and it requires discipline
and planning to implement. The memo thus outlines several changes the company needs to make
in its legal system.
First, the company needs to focus on critical change of behavior in the employees.
Basically, the employees have a tendency of failing to comply for their own selfish gains. For
instance, Kalanick who was the companys C.E.O was forced by investors to step down terming
him as a character that put the future of the company at risk. There is thus a need to have a code
of conduct for each employee and they should be enlightened on the need to follow them. Before
anyone is recruited in the company, they should be made to read and understand the code of
conduct for the company. Also, behavior could be changed through trainings. In job trainings
remind the employees of what is expected of them.
Secondly, the company needs to do away with the Greyball program and come up with a
better program that is in accordance to the rules and ethics of the country they are operating
(Mike, paragraph 2). The program developers should first get acquainted with the existing laws
before developing it. Further, the program should be approved by the authorities of the location
and should not discriminate clients on the basis of their profession.
Lastly, employees should be thoroughly scrutinized for compliance with the law. Their
criminal records should be screened in order to make sure that they will comply with the new
program. Having competent drivers will prevent cases of bribery or nay other noncompliance
activity.
Benefits of the proposal
Implementing the proposal will bear the company several benefits. The most important
benefit is the company will be able to correct its already destroyed reputation. The media has
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really done a great deal of highlighting the bad things in the company. The same media will also
update the improvements and this will help regain the customers trust. Second, improved
employee relationship will motivate them towards working to achieve the companys mission.
Lastly, by introducing strict scrutiny for employees, it will ensure that the company employees
with integrity who are not likely to be involved in vices such as bribery.
Next Steps
The first step is to consult the legal department about its idea on the code of conduct and
its recommendation on strict punishment for law offender. The technology department will also
be consulted on how to develop a program that is more compliant with the law Secondly, the
human resource department will give information on the criteria they use to qualify their
employees. There will also be consultations on how to incorporate the criminal record scrutiny
during recruitment.
Request
I request that you approve the proposal and next steps without delay

Works cited
Isaac, Mike. "How Uber Deceives the Authorities Worldwide." The New York Times - Breaking
News, World News & Multimedia, 3 Mar. 2017,
www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-program-evade-
authorities.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.
Smith, Geoffrey. "Uber Is Facing Bribery Questions in at Least Five Asian Countries?
Report." Fortune, 20 Sept. 2017, fortune.com/2017/09/20/uber-asia-bribery-indonesia-
fcpa/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.

Newcomer, Eric. "Uber Faces Widespread Asia Bribery Allegations Amid U.S. Criminal
Probe." Bloomberg.com, 5. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.

Supplement
How does the Greyball program qualify as a violation of law?
Basically, the program has been concerned as an act of federal violation of law. This is
because it prohibits justice by denying the members of the authority to scrutiny its operation. For
a program to be considered as compliant with the law it should have the approval of the authority
in the location. Further, it discriminates its clients on the basis of their involvement with the
authority. An entity should not discriminate anyone on the basis of their age, gender or
occupation.