AN ETHICAL DILEMMA*

Steven, a junior at Northeast State, just started workingpart-time at a local fast food restaurant chain. Although not hisdream job, it paid for tuition and books, and the restaurant gavehim the flexible schedule he needed for school. After a few months,Steven found he got along well with all of his coworkers, but itwas apparent they did not respect the company or the management.The employees made fun of their bosses and treated the work arealike a playground. In some respects, Steven thought it was a funenvironment to work in, especially after hours when management wasgone for the day. They played their music loudly, laughed, andtalked with one another during the down times instead of cleaningup their work areas like they were supposed to. Despite the factthere were ethical policies telling employees how they wereexpected to act in the workplace, these policies never seemed to beenforced. One day, while working with his coworker Julie on thefood assembly table, Steven saw Julie accidentally drop a meatpatty on the floor. Without so much as a flinch, she bent down,picked up the patty, stuck it back on the bun, and wrapped it up.It happened so fast that Steven wasn’t even sure he had seenright—especially since Julie had done it so casually. Stevenwatched in dismay as another worker took the hamburger out to thecustomer. Over the next few weeks, Steven saw others, including theshift supervisor, do the same thing with burgers and otherproducts. Once, an entire cheeseburger hit the greasy floor, waspicked up, and was taken to the customer. This time the customercomplained the burger tasted funny and sent it back. Steven noticedother unsanitary practices such as employees not washing theirhands between handling meat and vegetables and not washing utensilsbetween uses. Obviously, such practices were against companypolicies and, if reported, the supervisors in charge could get introuble and the restaurant would face investigations from thehealth department. However, there was ample opportunity for thingslike this to occur. There was no one watching them, and the shiftsupervisor also engaged in these activities. Steven felt it was thecompany’s responsibility to hire good people, so they were to blameif these things happened. One day, Steven approached Julie andasked, “Why do so many people here serve food that has fallen onthe floor to customers?” Julie thought about it briefly as thoughshe had never considered it before and replied, “I guess it’sbecause it would take too much time to get another beef patty outof the freezer, cook it, and serve it to the customer. This is afast food restaurant, after all, and I’m not interested in hearingcustomers complain about the time it takes for them to get theirfood. Besides, the restaurants with the fastest service get a bonusfrom corporate headquarters. Last year the supervisors rewarded uswith some extra money for doing our jobs so quickly.” Steven wassomewhat taken aback by the honest reply and asked, “Wouldn’t yoube disgusted if you were served dirty food at a restaurant?” Thistime Julie’s response was quick. She said, “What I don’t know won’thurt me.” She walked off. Several weeks went by and the samepractices continued. Steven became more and more concerned aboutthe consequences that could happen in an environment so laid backand unconcerned about safety and health. It seemed like the moretime that passed, the worse everyone’s attitude became. One day, atthe beginning of his shift, Steven noticed the walk-in freezer hadbeen left open. As he went to shut the door, he discovered a smellof rotten meat. It almost made him vomit. “How could this happen?”he wondered. He threw away the rotten meat without asking anyonebecause he was afraid of what the answer might be. After Steventhrew out the spoiled meat, he began to wonder how the culture ofthe restaurant got to the point of supporting such practices. Herealized the seemingly minor unsanitary practices allowed majorissues to arise that could possibly hurt someone. Steven felt heshould say or do something, but to whom? He sat down and ponderedwhat he should do.

QUESTIONS | EXERCISES

1. Describe the nature of the organizational culture in therestaurant. What kind of opportunities are there for unethicalbehavior to occur? Are there any opportunities for ethicalbehavior?

2. What are some of the incentives employees might have toengage in this type of behavior?

3. If the organizational culture of the restaurant does notchange, what are some likely outcomes and consequences?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Answer 1 The organizational culture of the restaurant is one that is permissive of unethical behavior There are many opportunities for employees to en... View the full answer