Uber Technologies Inc Case Study

Uber Technologies Inc Case Study
The $41 billion dollar firm Uber Technology, Inc. is unsettling the traditional taxi business. In over 40 countries and 240 markets around the world, Uber and similar companies are challenging the existing taxi business model. Uber and its growing list of competitors, Lyft, Sidecar, and Flywheel in America, and fledgling rivals in Europe, Asia, and India, think their smart phone apps can provide a new and improved way to call a taxi. This disruptive business model uses an app to arrange rides between riders and cars, theoretically a nearby car, which is tracked by the
app. The Uber system also provides a history of rides, routes, and fees as well as automatic billing. In addition, driver and rider are also allowed to evaluate each other. The services are increasingly popular, worrying established taxi services in cities from New York to Berlin, and from Rio de Janeiro to Bangkok. In many markets, Uber has proven to be the best, fastest, and most reliable way to find a ride. Consumers worldwide are endorsing the system as a replacement for the usual taxi ride. As the most established competitor in the field, Uber is putting more cars on
the road, meaning faster pickup times, which should attract even more riders, which in turn attracts even more drivers, and so on. This growth cycle may speed the demise of the existing taxi businesses as well as provide substantial competition for firms with a technology-oriented model similar to Uber’s. In this case study, you will write a paper that addresses the following questions.
Questions:
Make a list of ride-sharing attributes that are important to you as a customer. Think like a customer and brainstorm a list of attributes that are important when it comes to ride services such as Uber. Briefly discuss each attribute.
Now design those attributes into a ride-sharing process. Associate with each attribute/customer requirement a measure that would ensure that the process meets the requirement. Refer back to the House of Quality example on page 51. You do not need to create a house of quality, but you need specific, quantitative measures such as the target values in the house of quality example.
Create a service blueprint for a process that meets your requirements. Describe it by using a flowchart similar to that show in Exhibit 9.5.
Discuss other areas/industries in which the Uber model might be used.
Your Case Study Assignment* should be 5-7 pages of body in length and sufficiently answer the four assignment questions. (The body of the paper does not include the title page or reference page.) You should have a title page, introduction, responses to each of the four questions, conclusions, and reference page.
Written in APA manual 6th ed. format (an APA handbook is on reserve at Athens State University library and an additional copy is at the reference desk – the book can be only used in the library – you cannot check it out – of course you can purchase a copy at any book store for your own reference).
Use Level 1, 2, or 3 headers to organize your paper. If you don’t know what these are, see the example APA papers provided in the
Supplemental Materials folder located below.
Remember , this is a paper so it should flow. You don’t want to merely state the question number and then answer it. Make your thoughts and analysis flow with a coherent purpose.
The flowchart should be inserted into the paper. If you construct the flowchart in a program outside of Word, you will need to copy and paste it
into your paper so that you submit one file only. The flowchart should not be submitted as a separate file.
Here are some answers to other potential questions related to the Case Study Assignment*:
The minimum number of references is two. They can be any credible and scholarly references. Remember, these should be business-related references and not just references for ride-sharing services.
An abstract is not necessary.
The flowchart should be drawn either in Word, PowerPoint, Excel or some equivalent drawing tool and inserted in the paper. Do not hand-draw flowcharts.
Make sure you are constructing a flowchart and not a picture/image. Do not use SmartArt from PowerPoint. See exhibit 9.5 for an example of a sophisticated flowchart. The flowchart must be your own creation, not something you get off the internet.
The flowchart does count as part of the 5-7 pages of body requirement.
Make your attribute list very clear. Either number your attributes or use bullets. Your list should be descriptive and provide adequate detail; a few words would not be sufficient.
Make sure that in question 2, you identify quantitative measurements. Be sure and watch the Collaborate session for more information.