Reference no: EM133484264
Case study- Living on Espionage by Emmanuel Kwame Opoku
Living on Espionage by Emmanuel Kwame Opoku Hotel de Omega is a renowned 5-star hotel in Ghana. It has created a niche for itself with its popular conferences and prestigious guest programmes; this hotel has become a household name among the local people. It is also noted locally for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes within the region. CSR is defined as 'the notion that corporations have an obligation to constituent groups in society, other than stockholders and beyond that, is prescribed by law or union contract' (Jones, 1980, p. 59).
On July 5, 2016, the owners of the hotel funded the drilling of a water well and the renovation of a dilapidated school structure for the community; however, despite its outstanding popularity and investment in CSR, the conditions of service for the Hotel de Omega employees were abysmal and disheartening.
Stephen and John had been co-workers at this hotel for 10 years and life had become increasingly difficult for both of them since the conditions of service were worsening along with the remuneration. Stephen and John innovated an espionage plan through which they blackmailed hotel guests to support their families. Their target market was primarily married men visiting the hotel with 'young ladies' who were prostituting near the hotel. Most of these prostituting 'young ladies' were locals; Stephen and John knew their background so they were able to identify their victims easily. Hence, any man who visited the hotel with a recognizable local lady became a victim of their new business venture. It is important to note that, because the Hotel de Omega was the only hotel in the community, it became an 'attractive abode' for promiscuous people.
To make their new business venture successful, John and Stephen placed hidden cameras in designated rooms usually allocated to guests for such leisure. Following each visit, they sent video recordings to the unsuspecting guests via their mobile phones with threats to expose their victims if they failed to pay a huge amount of money. Stephen and John continued with this activity for a long time during which their finances improved substantially and their lifestyles became opulent and extravagant.
However, on 20th March 2020, the unexpected happened when John felt that Stephen had cheated on him on a deal concerning a minister of the church who had visited the hotel with one of the prostituting local ladies. The two friends began to fight and, unfortunately, their argument took place on the premises of the hotel, enabling the General Manager of the hotel to become aware of the whole saga.
The two employees were invited to a management meeting where they openly admitted to having committed the crime. The hotel management managed to keep the story out of the public domain and the workers were dismissed secretly; the case was not reported to the police. Significantly, the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana (1992) stipulates that: 'No person shall be subjected to interference with the privacy of his home, property, correspondence or communication except with law and as may be necessary in a free and democratic society for public safety or for economic well-being of the country, for the protection of health or morals, for the prevention of disorder or crime or for the protection of the rights of freedom of others' (Comparative Constitutions Project, 2013, p14).
Questions
1. What is your opinion of investment in CSR whilst neglecting the working conditions and remuneration of the employees?
2. What is your view of Stephen and John's new business venture?
3. Do you think hotels should allow or encourage prostituting 'young girls' to trade near their premises? Why? Why not?
4. Do you agree with the decision of the management team regarding this crime? Why? Why not?
5. What is your opinion of espionage activities in general in hotels? Justify your answer.