Problem-Solving Case: Uber and EEOC Settle Sexual Harassment Investigation When it was founded in 2009 , the ride-hailing company called Uber seemed poised to revolutionize the taxi industry with its convenient app and army of independent drivers ready to provide service at the touch of a button. The company grew quickly and was soon a billiondollar firm with operations in cities around the United States and abroad. But among other troubles, including a ban on doing business in some overseas cities (including London), a culture was developing inside the company that many have called "toxic." In 2017 Susan Fowler, a former engineer for the firm, published an explosive blog post in which she charged that managers at Uber had ignored her complaints about sexual harassment by her supervisor when she was employed there. Fowler believed her boss had been let off the hook because he was considered a good performer, while she herself was reportedly threatened with a poor review if she didn't resign. After Fowler's post became public, Uber promised an "urgent" investigation, and a few months later the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also began looking into employment practices at the company. Eventually more than 20 employees were fired for their contributions to the company's hostile environment. Lawsuits were filed against the firm by other women who claimed sexism and discrimination, and Uber's controversial CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick was forced out. Kalanick later resigned from the company's board of directors as well after selling his shares, which were worth more than $2.5 billion. In concluding one of its investigations into Uber, the EEOC recently said it had found "reasonable cause to believe that Uber permitted a culture of sexual harassment and retaliation against individuals who complained about such harassment." The settlement will cost Uber $4.4 million in damages payable to current and former employees who filed harassment claims, and the company has also agreed to be monitored for compliance with improved practices for three years. It has promised to develop methods for responding to claims of harassment in future and to identify supervisors and managers who delay responding to these or who are themselves the subject of Diversity and leadership training will also be offered to Uber employees throughout the global company. Uber must still deal with other fallout from a culture that is said to have prioritized growth at all costs, including accusations of racial discrimination that cost the head of human resources her position, claims of pay inequity that led to at least one lawsuit, concerns about privacy and data-collecting practices, reported assaults on both passengers and drivers, growing resistance to its practice of hiring drivers as contractors rather than employees, and ongoing government investigations into reportedly fraudulent practices designed to evade law enforcement. "The tech industry ... has often ignored allegations of sexual harassment when an accused harasser is seen as more valuable to the company than the accused," said the EEOC's district director in San Francisco. 1. In what ways did pursuing a strategy of growth at all costs make it more likely that Uber's culture would suffer? Do you believe this is a problem particular to tech industries? Why or why not? 2. What fair employment practices do you think Uber overlooked in its early years? Is it still undervaluing any of the principles described in this chapter? 3. What else should Uber do to ensure that it permanently changes its corporate culture