{"id":1349,"date":"2017-03-09T08:30:43","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T14:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/?p=1349"},"modified":"2017-03-07T10:25:18","modified_gmt":"2017-03-07T16:25:18","slug":"not-so-uber-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/2017\/03\/09\/not-so-uber-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"Not So &#8220;\u00dcber&#8221; Anymore?"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1352\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1352\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/automobileitalia\/33071773875\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1352\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2017\/03\/33071773875_684519e00a_z-600x346.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2017\/03\/33071773875_684519e00a_z-600x346.jpg 600w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2017\/03\/33071773875_684519e00a_z-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/files\/2017\/03\/33071773875_684519e00a_z.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1352\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Automobile Italia, Flickr CC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uber has been having a bad time. From reports that venture capital <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ftalphaville.ft.com\/2016\/12\/01\/2180647\/the-taxi-unicorns-new-clothes\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has been propping up<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a flawed business model, to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">evidence of<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/11\/01\/technology\/uber-lyft-racial-discrimination.html?_r=0\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> racial bias in pickups<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, rate cuts during <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/dr-gridlock\/wp\/2017\/01\/29\/uber-triggers-protest-for-not-supporting-taxi-strike-against-refugee-ban\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a New York taxi strike<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> leading to the #DeleteUber movement, and recent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.susanjfowler.com\/blog\/2017\/2\/19\/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">accounts of sexual harassment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> alongside <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2017-02-28\/in-video-uber-ceo-argues-with-driver-over-falling-fares\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">conflicts with drivers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the romance of Silicon Valley innovation and &#8220;disruption&#8221; in the company is on the decline. But while this may seem like a fall from grace, research shows these problems are tragically <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">normal.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They often plague a wide range of companies because of their organizational structures, and tech start-ups are no exception. <\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Classic research shows that when a founder also acts as the CEO, it can cause trouble for a company. While they may have a knack for developing innovative products or services, founders don\u2019t always have the management skills to run a large, successful business as a complex organization. <\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ls3.soziologie.uni-muenchen.de\/personen\/professor\/bruederl_josef\/index.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Josef Br\u00fcderl<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/organisationvonarbeitundbetrieb.soziologie.uni-mainz.de\/professor-dr-peter-preisendoerfer\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peter Preisend\u00f6rfer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.european-academy-sociology.eu\/fellows\/ziegler.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rolf Ziegler<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 1992. &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/2096207?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Survival Chances of Newly Founded Business Organizations.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> American Sociological Review<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 57(2): 227-242. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5>While teams of entrepreneurs can start a businesses together, they often choose who will ultimately run the company. This process is not neutral. Gender inequality in business leadership can emerge from these decisions because friends and family members in these teams often take gendered assumptions for granted.<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/people.duke.edu\/~ty41\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tiantan Yang<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/howardaldrich.org\/about\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Howard E. Aldrich<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 2014. &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Howard_Aldrich\/publication\/260552862_Who%27s_the_Boss_Explaining_Gender_Inequality_in_Entrepreneurial_Teams\/links\/54affe570cf28ebe92de3a35.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who&#8217;s the Boss? Explaining Gender Inequality in Entrepreneurial Teams.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8221; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">American Sociological Review<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 79(2): 303-327.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Racial and gender discrimination in hiring and promotions plagues a wide range of organizations, especially because opportunities for promotion tend to favor homogeneous social networks. These problems also plague<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">organizations and could indicate other organizational troubles, as firms that engage in hiring discrimination are more likely to go out of business. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/facultybio.haas.berkeley.edu\/faculty-list\/petersen-trond\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trond Petersen<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Ishak Saporta. 2004. &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.journals.uchicago.edu\/doi\/abs\/10.1086\/378536\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Opportunity Structure for Discrimination<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&#8221; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">American Journal of Sociology<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 109(4): 852-901.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sociology.rice.edu\/Content.aspx?id=2147483801\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">James R. Elliott<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baruch.cuny.edu\/mspia\/faculty-and-staff\/full-time-faculty\/ryan-alan-smith.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ryan A. Smith<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 2004. &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/000312240406900303\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Race, Gender, and Workplace Power.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8221; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">American Sociological Review<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 69(3): 365-386.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/sociology.fas.harvard.edu\/people\/devah-pager\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Devah Pager<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 2016. \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sociologicalscience.com\/articles-v3-36-849\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are Firms That Discriminate More Likely to Go Out of Business?<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sociological Science <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3: 849-859.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Uber has been having a bad time. From reports that venture capital has been propping up a flawed business model, to evidence of racial bias in pickups, rate cuts during a New York taxi strike leading to the #DeleteUber movement, and recent accounts of sexual harassment alongside conflicts with drivers, the romance of Silicon Valley [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1957,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,55,13,14],"tags":[38543,96399,38545,38541,673,38542,43093],"class_list":["post-1349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-gender","category-inequality","category-race","tag-culture","tag-entrepreneurs","tag-gender","tag-inequality","tag-organizations","tag-race","tag-uber"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1957"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1349"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1353,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1349\/revisions\/1353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}