memo.docx

For this dilemma, you are assuming the role of Chief Technology Officer for Pennant Hotels, a global chain of luxury hotels. You'll be examining the ethical dilemma using the Relationship Lens and the Reputation Lens. Check the Case File below for the details of the dilemma, your job description, and any relevant policies.

Your Job Description

Below you will find a summary of your job description for this dilemma. Knowing what is expected of you within your role will help you understand your responsibilities better.Chief Technology OfficerThe Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is responsible for overseeing all technical aspects of the company. The CTO works with Executive Management to grow the company through the use of technological resources. Using an active and practical approach, the CTO will direct all employees in IT and IO departments to attain the company’s strategic goals established in the company’s strategic plan. The responsibilities include establishing the company’s technical vision and leading all aspects of the company’s technological development.

Problem

I have the unfortunate responsibility of informing you of a serious problem we’ve identified with the Concierge programming. As you know, Concierge is a brand new product for us, and our team has worked hard to complete development and installation of Concierge for your hotels worldwide. I cannot stress enough how valuable your business is to us and how grateful we are for the opportunity to work with such a prestigious partner. We therefore wanted to make sure our product meets the highest standard. We have fallen short of that goal.The bug in Concierge won’t be obvious to a user, which is one reason why it escaped our notice in testing. The issue lies in a user option called “privacy mode,” where the user can choose to have none of their personal data stored. The problem is that the users’ personal data is, in fact, still being retained, even in “privacy mode.” Right now, only a sysadmin or a very skilled hacker could access the data, but with this bug in place, Concierge is non-compliant with privacy regulations in the EU.We have already begun work on a fix for this problem, but I must admit it will take about over a month to do the work properly. The fix also requires a firmware update, which means you’ll need to replace all the units you already have installed.In the meantime, I’m afraid the best course of action might be to disable the online features of Concierge. If the unit is in offline mode, none of the user’s personal data would be stored on our end—though of course, most of its features will be nonfunctional.We will do everything in our power to make good on our promise of a quality product. Please let us know how you would like to proceed.Hera GiannopoulosChief Executive OfficerAI Innovators