Uber recommendations show company was 'out of control'

Joe Holt

It's clear from former Attorney General Eric Holder's recommendations on how to fix Uber's dysfunctional management that the male-dominated company grew huge without even the most basic procedures to prevent sexual harassment, bullying and other bad behavior.

The 13-page document from Holder's firm Covington & Burling LLP released Tuesday exposes a startup-turned-goliath that permitted misconduct, had few policies to protect employees and ran with little board supervision.

The recommendations , adopted unanimously by Uber's board, show clearly that the next version of Uber, called 2.0 by CEO co-founder Travis Kalaninck, will have to be much different from the free-wheeling company that flouted regulations and disrupted the taxi business to become the world's largest ride-hailing company.

Kalanick told employees Tuesday that he'd be taking an indefinite leave of absence.

EXCERPT:

A company can be aggressive yet have strong values, said Joseph Holt, a business ethics professor at the University of Notre Dame. He cited Starbucks as example.

"Having a good reputation for ethics is a competitive advantage," Holt said.

Read the entire story on the Associated Press website.