would take too much time to get another beef patty out of the freezer, cook it$,$ and serve it to the customer. This is a fast$-$food restaurant, after all, and I$$m not interested in hearing customers complain about how long it took for them to get their food. Besides, the restaurants with the fastest service get a bonus from corporate headquarters. Last year, the supervisors rewarded us with bonuses for being so fast.$$Steven was somewhat taken aback by the honest reply and asked, $$Wouldn$$t you be disgusted if you were served dirty food at a restaurant?$$This time Julie$$s response was quick. She said, $$What I don$$t know won$$t hurt me$,$ and she walked off.Several weeks went by$,$ and the same practices continued. Steven became more and more concerned about the consequences that could happen in an environment so laid back and unconcerned about safety and health. It seemed like the more time passed, the worse everyone$$s attitude became.One day, at the beginning of his shift, Steven noticed the walk$-$in freezer had been left open. As he went to shut the door, he smelled spoiled meat and discovered that the meat had gone bad. $$How could this happen?$$ he wondered. He threw away the spoiled meat without asking anyone because he was afraid of what his supervisors might ask him to do$.$After Steven threw out the spoiled meat, he began to wonder how the culture of the restaurant got to be so poor that it supported such practices. He realized the seemingly minor unsanitary practices allowed major issues to arise that could possibly hurt someone. Steven felt he should take action. He sat down and pondered what he should do$.$QuestiOns $|$ exerCises$1.$Describe the nature of the organizational culture in the restaurant. What kind of opportunities are there for unethical behavior to occur? Are there any opportunities for ethical behavior?$2.$What are some of the incentives employees might have to engage in this type of behavior?$3.$When most employees ignore policies, is it hard for one employee to question existing rules being broken? Why?$*$This case is strictly hypothetical; any resemblance to real persons, companies, or situations is coincidental.Steven, a junior at Northeast State, just started working part$-$time at a fast$-$food restaurant chain. Although not his dream job, it paid for tuition and books, and it gave him the flexible schedule he needed for school. After a few months, Steven found he got along well with all of his coworkers, but it was apparent they did not respect the company or management. The employees made fun of the manager and treated the work area like a playground. In some respects, Steven thought it was a fun environment to work in$,$ especially after hours when management was gone for the day. They played their music loudly, spent time on social media, and talked with one another during the down times instead of cleaning up their work areas. Despite ethical policies in place telling employees how they were expected to act in the workplace, these policies were never enforced.One day, while working with his coworker Julie on the food assembly table, Steven saw Julie accidentally drop a meat patty 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$$t even sure he had seen right$$especially since Julie had done it so casually. Steven watched in dismay as another worker took the hamburger out to the customer.Over the next few weeks, Steven saw others, including the shift supervisor, do the same thing with burgers and other products. Once, an entire cheeseburger hit the greasy floor, was picked up$,$ and was taken to the customer. This time, the customer complained the burger tasted funny and sent it back. Steven noticed other unsanitary practices such as employees not washing their hands between handling raw meat and vegetables and not washing utensils between uses. Also, sometimes flies would land on burgers that were then served to customers. Obviously, such practices were against company policies and, if reported, the supervisors in charge could get in trouble and the restaurant would face investigations from the health department. There was no one watching the employees, and the shift supervisor also engaged in these activities. Steven felt it was the company$$s responsibility to hire good people, so they were to blame if these things happened.One day, Steven approached Julie and asked, $$Why do so many people here serve food that has fallen on the floor to customers?$$Julie thought about it briefly as though she had never considered it before and replied, $$I guess it$$s because it