Diversity and Food Safety Situations
Chapter 8 noted that there were additional ethical concerns for foodservice in the areas of
diversity, employee safety, food safety, and purchasing. A purchasing situation was
presented in the text that called on Eric to decide whether or not to buy stolen steaks from
the supplier's driver. We will look at some diversity, food safety, and employee safety
situations in this lesson.
Here's a diversity situation:
A restaurant has mostly Hispanic workers in the kitchen, dishwasher, and busser
positions. There are no Hispanic managers, waiters, or bartenders. Is there a problem
here? (Perhaps)
If we hire entry-level workers who can do the job but cannot communicate adequately in
English, they might be unable to move into management, server, or bartender positions
until their English has improved. We must make sure that we would, however, promote
any qualified employee and not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, or
gender.
What are some reasons we might want to have Hispanics in server, bartender, or
management positions? (We need good people in all positions and cannot afford to
discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, or gender. It is illegal to do so. It is
motivating for employees to know they can move into higher paying, more skilled
positions if they have desire and work hard. Their sex or the color of their skin is
irrelevant.)
It is in our best interest to have long-term employees who are committed to the company.
The only way we can get these types of workers on board is to provide career ladders for
them to climb if they choose to. A dishwasher can advance to prep cook, then line cook
etc. A busser can become a server or bartender, and everyone has the chance to move into
management. Will all the Hispanic kitchen workers be able to rise through the ranks?
(No. Not everyone wants to or is capable of advancement.)
We may find we have smart and motivated employees whose reading, writing, and
computing skills are not adequately developed to facilitate their move into higher level
positions. What might we do to begin grooming entry-level employees for advancement
if they are so inclined? (Offer tuition reimbursement for English as a Second Language
classes, reading, writing, and/or computing classes.) Turnover is one of our biggest
problems in foodservice management. We can hire good workers in entry-level positions
and then help them to grow into higher level positions. Workers who have been nurtured
in this way tend to be long-term, loyal employees.
Think through the ethical principles. Are any addressed in this situation? Compare your
thoughts with the following:
Integrity: It is right to help and promote deserving employees.
Loyalty: We always need to be doing what is best for our companies. Helping
entry-level employees advance is good business and instills loyalty.
Fairness: It is unfair to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, or gender.
Concern and Respect for Others: We need to see each of our employees as
individuals deserving our respect. As managers we are to bring out the best in our
employees. By helping our employees to be and do their best, we are successful.
Commitment to Excellence: Teaching and helping our employees to grow results
in better employees and more successful operations.
Leadership: When we take into consideration the needs of all our employees and
help them to do their best, they can and will enjoy excelling. We build loyalty and trust
amongst employees and towards management. Their attitudes are good and they become
more cooperative.
Reputation and Morale: Providing a positive working environment with growth
opportunities increases job satisfaction. Job satisfaction begets longevity and can have a
positive influence on performance, thereby enhancing the reputation of the operation both
for guests and prospective employees.
Accountability: Helping our employees to do their best is the right thing to do and
has positive benefits for the operation. We are accountable for the ethical quality of our
decisions and must act as role models for employees.
Food Safety Situation
Here's a food safety situation: An unfortunate outbreak of food borne illness occurred in
one of the dining outlets at a large university. The food and beverage director blamed the
outbreak on the head cook, saying that the individual was negligent and did not take
adequate precautions.
As managers we are responsible for serving food that our guests enjoy. We are also
responsible for assuring that the food is indeed safe to consume. We do this by
identifying all critical control points where something can go wrong and by ensuring that
our staff is doing everything possible to keep food safe.
The chain of command dictates that managers are responsible for the decisions and acts
of employees. The F & B director is responsible for the decisions and acts of his or her
managers. The head cook may have been negligent in this situation, but his or her
superior should have properly trained and then supervised the individual and avoided the
problem. It violates the ethical principle of Accountability for the F & B director to try
and shift blame for the problem on the head cook.
The F & B director failed to adequately supervise the head cook. He or she would have to
tighten controls and perhaps better train foodservice employees in sanitation. As
managers we are responsible for the work of our employees. We are tasked with ensuring
they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, when they are supposed to be doing it,
and how they are required to be doing it. Responsibility comes with the top job. We are
accountable.
What other ethical principles might be violated by the F & B director blaming the cook?
(Integrity, Trustworthiness, Commitment to Excellence, Leadership, Reputation and
Morale, Accountability.)