Controversy
Airbnb
is an online marketplace which lets people rent out their rooms or properties
to guests. Participants are expected to abide by the Airbnb policies, but in
some instances, there have been accusations of violations. For example, people of
color have charged that it is more difficult for them to secure a rental than
their white counterparts. This charge has been backed up by a Harvard Business
School study that showed there was a pattern of discrimination against guests
who had names that suggested they might be black (Glusac). Airbnb also has guests post pictures of
themselves which helps make it easy for people to discriminate. Though Airbnb
is not directly discriminating against guests, it is responsible for creating a
platform that allows for this. Airbnb has taken steps to correct the situation
by implementing a nondiscrimination policy and nondiscrimination training. It has
not, however, gotten rid of pictures or names in guest's profiles. In this
analysis we will determine those who are affected by this issue as well as the merits
of the actions of Airbnb and its property owners based on four ethical perspectives.
Stakeholders
Robert
Phillips, author of Stakeholder Theory and Organizational Ethics, defines stakeholders as those groups
from whom the organization has voluntarily accepted benefits, and to whom the
organization has therefore incurred obligations of fairness. The question of
fairness to stakeholders is an issue in the Airbnb case because some
stakeholders have opposing views about their experience and want opposing outcomes.
Airbnb is in a difficult spot because they are trying to balance the demands of
all stakeholders because they need both renters and property owners to be happy
to make their business work efficiently. According to Robert Phillips,
stakeholders of a business do not need to be treated equally. Instead, voice in
decision-making and share of organizational outcomes should be based on
contribution to the organization. The more a stakeholder group contributes to
the organization, the greater their voice. One could argue that the renters
contribute more to the bottom line of the company and therefore property owners
that refuse to abide by the non-discrimination agreement developed by Airbnb do
not have to be considered on an equal basis, but the business clearly needs a
large base of rentable properties to operate efficiently and grow. Airbnb cannot afford to ignore the
controversy and simply claim it just provides a platform for the exchange of
goods and services. They really have no choice but to engage with all
stakeholders on a sensitive issue that has broad implications to our society
and deal with the ongoing discrimination and prejudice.
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| Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky |
Individualism
Individualism considers personal benefit to be the most
important element when making a decision (Mack). In business, this can be a way
to motivate individuals to perform their best, which will in turn benefit the company.
The welfare of company is the primary concern, not the welfare of the public.
According to this theory, the
only purpose of a business is to make the largest profit as possible, while
staying within the law. Concern for the
public good is considered to be the jurisdiction of lawmakers. They are
responsible for making the laws that protect the rights of people and enforcing
the “common good”. Individualism theory supports the idea that Airbnb is
not responsible for the actions of the property owners, nor are the property
owners obligated to change their behavior. This is because Airbnb is simply a
way to connect property owners and people who are looking for a place to rent
and the only thing the company is responsible for is creating the most
efficient marketplace for this business exchange. The private properties listed
on Airbnb are not open to the public and therefore they are not subject to the
same laws that public housing must abide by. The owners of these private homes
have a right to choose who is allowed in them and the vast majority of these
property owners are not violating any laws, such as the Fair Housing Act, which
prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of dwellings based on race,
religion, sex and other superficial characteristics (MetaFilter). As long as they are staying within the
boundaries of the law, there is no requirement to change their behavior. Also,
there is no policy that can fix biases people may have when deciding who they
are allowing into their home.
According to an article entitled
“Common Good” published by the Markulla Center for Applied Ethics, our
historical traditions place a high value on individual freedom, on personal
rights, and on allowing each person to "do her own thing". In this
individualistic culture it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to convince people
that they should sacrifice some of their freedom, some of their personal goals,
and some of their self-interest, for the sake of the "common good".
This historical background makes it easy for Airbnb to take a stance that
favors individualism. This perspective applies to both the individual property
owners who want control over who they rent to and the company itself that wants
to prioritize profits and leave the “common good” up to someone else to enforce
or comply with on a voluntary basis.
Utilitarianism
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| Screenshot of Airbnb guest interacting with property owner |
Utilitarianism,
an ethical theory that came about in the 1800’s holds that the best course of
action is the one that that maximizes happiness and does the greatest good for
the greatest number of people. The founders of utilitarianism are considered to
be Jeremy Bentham and John Stewart Mill. Whether or not a decision is ethical
is a calculation of the good and bad consequences (Anderson). From a utilitarian perspective, the
discriminatory actions of the Airbnb property owners are impermissible because
they do not maximize happiness. While only some of the property owners participated
in the discrimination, their actions as stakeholders have widespread
consequences on other stakeholders of the company. Utilitarianism demands that decisions
must be based on overall consequences and therefore the property owners who
practiced in the discrimination are unjust. They are negatively impacting
minority renters and they are not considering the effect of their actions on
the broader society. Discriminating against renters based on superficial
attributes such as name or race is unethical and creates an unequal opportunity
for some people. That further divides our society and perpetuates negative
feelings and stereotypes among various groups of people. None of this is
helpful to making our society more cohesive or increasing happiness.
Airbnb is in a difficult situation because they are trying
to balance the needs and preferences of different stakeholders who want
opposite things. Property owners want to retain control over their properties
and renters of all backgrounds want to feel like they have been treated in a
non-discriminatory way. While Airbnb has acted ethically and taken steps to
increase the overall happiness and satisfaction with the experience of
stakeholders and reduce discriminatory acts, they may not be able to fully
satisfy all stakeholders because personal prejudices will always exist on some
level.
Kantianism
Kantianism
is an ethical theory developed by Immanuel Kant that seeks to guide behavior
based on strong moral standards. “Don’t lie, cheat manipulate or harm others to
get your way. Rather, use informed and rational consent from all parties”
(Salazar 21). According to Kant’s formula of humanity, all people need to be
treated with respect and not as mere means to an end. This is based on the idea
that humans are free rational beings capable of rational behavior and should
not be used purely for the enjoyment or happiness of others (Sirotkin).
Kantianism requires that we look at the intentions of a particular action,
rather than merely the result. In this case, some of the property owners were
discriminating based on race, religion, and other superficial characteristics
that have no legitimate impact on the quality of a guest. In other words, the
properties owners are not acting rationally and are disrespecting potential
guests and are therefore in violation of Kantian ethics. One could argue that
Airbnb itself has also violated Kantian ethics because of their profile picture
policy; however, the website has reasons behind the pictures such as ID
verification and has not made any attempt to mislead anyone before or after the
discovery of this controversy. Airbnb did not use the profile pictures to
discriminate and once it realized others were, it stated its position on the
issue and took steps to correct it and educate users by creating an
anti-discrimination policy. It was not the intention of Airbnb to discriminate
against potential renters, in fact to do so could harm the company. It did make
an effort to gain rational consent from all parties by implementing user agreements
and options that would respect the points of view of both property owners and
renters. From this perspective, they were acting ethically, even if some of
their stakeholders were not and some of their actions fell short of bringing
about a fully satisfactory resolution.
Virtue Theory
Virtue
theory originated with the Greek philosopher, Aristotle. Like Kantianism,
virtue theory emphasizes the idea of justice along with other positive traits
such as courage, honesty, fairness and many more. These traits
that help a person flourish are called virtues, while those traits that inhibit
flourishing are called vices (Salazar). A practitioner of virtue ethics tries
to act to embody certain virtues such as honesty or courage, while avoiding
vices such as dishonesty or cowardice (Thompson). The individual property
owners who practiced discrimination were not acting in accordance with the
virtues theory, but they only represent one group of stakeholders in the Airbnb
case. One might argue that Airbnb created the platform that allowed for the
discrimination to occur, but it was not their intention to aid or promote
discrimination. They simply set out to connect buyers and sellers in a
marketplace. Their decision to recognize the problem, take a stand against the
discrimination and take steps to rectify the situation shows their beliefs in the
virtues of fairness, honesty, and justice. Airbnb’s actions show that it is
attempting to get along better with society and promote growth, therefore its
actions are ethically permissible and in keeping with virtues ethics. Of
course, some might argue that Airbnb should have gone father to bring about a
better result, but virtues theory is more concerned with the actions taken more
than the result. A review of its web site, www.airbnb.com shows its commitment to inclusion and respect as
a response to the discrimination controversy. They spell out in clear, thoughtful
language their stance on respect and inclusion and the culture they want to
promote as a company. They state that they believe the “Airbnb community can
promote empathy and understanding across all cultures”. They also spell our
specific do’s and don’ts to guide the behavior of the users of their platform
to support the culture they are trying to grow. From this perspective, they
have acted in accordance with virtue ethics, even if the results have been less
than perfect.
Glusac, Elaine. “As Airbnb Grows, So Do
Claims of Discrimination.” The New
York Times, The New
YorkTimes, 21 June 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/travel/airbnb-discrimination- lawsuit.html.
“MetaFilter.” Innclusive aims to solve Airbnb's discrimination problem,
Phillips, Robert. Some
Key Questions About Stakeholder Theory. Ivey Business Journal. March/April
2004. https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/some-key-questions-about-stakeholder-theory/
Mack, Stan. Individualism and Ethical Decision Making.
Small Business - Chron.com. n.d.
Anderson, Kirby. Utilitarianism: The Greatest Good for the
Greatest Number. Probe Ministries. 27 May
Salazar, Heather. The
Business Ethics Case Manual. n.d.
Sirotkin, Rachel. Kantianism>Utilitarianism.
Introduction to Ethics. Emory.edu. 19 October 2014.
Thompson, Scott. Ethical
Theories in Business.Small Business –Chron.com. n.d.
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