This Ethics Connection CE article appeared in the March/April 2026 issue of Nutrition & Foodservice Edge magazine. To view a PDF of this article click HERE.
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Culture is Ethics in Action: What You Allow is What You Teach
By: Michael Kopec, CDM, CFPP
In food service, culture isn’t created by mission statements on the wall or values printed in an employee handbook. It’s created in the moments that matter most—during a slammed lunch rush, a late delivery, a staffing shortage, or a tense interaction between team members. Culture is not what leaders say they value; it’s what they allow to happen when no one is watching. In that sense, culture is ethics in action. Every decision, every reaction, and every behavior that goes unaddressed sends a clear message about what truly matters. Foodservice leaders operate in environments defined by speed, pressure, and constant trade-offs. Because of that, ethical culture is not built through occasional training sessions alone, but through daily behaviors modeled and reinforced on the floor. What leaders tolerate—cutting corners, disrespect, favoritism, unsafe practices, or burnout—quietly becomes the curriculum. What leaders consistently address becomes the standard.
ETHICS AREN’T ABSTRACT IN FOOD SERVICE
Ethics in food service are often misunderstood as big, dramatic choices: food safety violations, theft, harassment, or fraud. While those issues certainly matter, most ethical decisions in hospitality are subtle and cumulative. They show up in how schedules are written, how mistakes are handled, how guests are spoken about in the back of the house, and how pressure is distributed during a rush.
Does a supervisor look the other way when a cook skips a safety step to save time? Does a manager laugh off an inappropriate joke because the team is busy? Does leadership consistently count on the same “reliable” employees to carry the load while others coast? Each of these moments communicates values far more powerfully than any policy manual.
In food service, ethics live in behavior because behavior determines outcomes: food safety, guest trust, employee well-being, and brand reputation. When leaders fail to act, they are not remaining neutral; they are actively teaching the team what is acceptable.
EMPLOYEES LEARN WHAT IS ENFORCED OR IGNORED
“What you allow is what you teach.” This phrase resonates deeply in food service because the industry runs on habits. Teams quickly learn what will be enforced and what will be ignored. If accountability is inconsistent, standards erode. If disrespect goes unchecked, it spreads. If burnout is normalized, people stop speaking up until they leave.
Earlier in my career, I worked for an organization where one senior leader represented nearly every leadership behavior we warn against—intimidation, manipulation, and calling people out in front of others. And he wasn’t a rare case. Many leaders around him had been shaped by the same mindset and rewarded for it. That behavior wasn’t challenged. It became part of the operating system.
People noticed. People adapted. And over time, that culture took root—not because it was written down anywhere, but because no one stopped it. Silence became approval. Looking the other way became the norm. Harmful behavior went unaddressed long enough that it started to feel acceptable.
“The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.” – David Morrison
I chose not to lead that way. And that decision may be connected to why my time there eventually ended. What’s interesting, though, is I’ve also experienced a very different version of dysfunction—one that’s quieter and easier to justify. No raised voices. No public embarrassment. Just a steady avoidance of difficult conversations.
Problematic behavior was ignored rather than corrected. Accountability was replaced with politeness. There was an unspoken expectation to keep things pleasant at all costs. Praise was handed out even when the work fell short. Questions went unasked. Tension was smoothed over instead of addressed.
And in many ways, that kind of environment can be just as harmful. Whether it’s loud or subtle, culture is shaped by what leaders are willing to confront—and what they choose to ignore.
THE HIDDEN COST OF ETHICAL DRIFT
Ethical drift doesn’t happen overnight. It’s described as the gradual, often unconscious, erosion of an individual’s or group’s moral standards. It’s when small, seemingly insignificant compromises accumulate over time, leading to a significant shift away from original ethical principles, often justified by rationalization.
- “We’ll fix that later—we’re too busy right now.”
- “That’s just how the industry is.”
- “They didn’t mean any harm.”
These types of compromises become normalized, and standards quietly lower. In food service, the cost of ethical drift shows up in predictable ways: higher turnover, disengaged employees, inconsistent guest experiences, and increased risk concerning safety and compliance.
Adam Grant, a prominent organizational psychologist, refers to this phenomenon as “culture drift” – and says that these small compromises turn an organization into something no one ever intended it to be.
LEADERSHIP PRESENCE IS THE ETHICAL STANDARD
In fast-paced environments, leaders are always teaching—whether they intend to or not. Their tone, body language, and reactions during stressful moments set the emotional and ethical temperature of the operation.
When leaders remain calm, respectful, and solution-focused under pressure, they demonstrate that integrity does not disappear when things get hard. When leaders blame, shout, or disengage, they teach that stress justifies poor behavior.
Ethical leadership in food service requires presence. Being visible on the floor, listening without defensiveness, and addressing issues in real time communicates that values are not situational. Presence also builds credibility; teams are more likely to accept correction from leaders who understand the realities of the work.
CONSISTENCY BUILDS ETHICAL TRUST
One of the fastest ways to undermine culture is inconsistency. Teams can handle high standards; what they struggle with is unpredictability. If rules change depending on who is working, who is watching, or due to a busy shift, trust erodes.
Consistency does not mean rigidity. It means applying values fairly while allowing room for judgment. For example, holding everyone to the same expectations around respect, safety, and teamwork—while recognizing that coaching and support may look different depending on experience and context.
When leaders consistently address issues early, they prevent small problems from becoming cultural norms. Over time, this creates psychological safety, where employees feel confident that concerns will be taken seriously and handled appropriately.
TEACHING THROUGH EVERYDAY DECISIONS
Ethical culture is reinforced through the everyday choices leaders make. It shows in how new employees are onboarded and mentored, in whether mistakes are addressed privately or publicly, and in the ways credit is given and blame assigned. It is also evident in how feedback moves – not just from the top down, but up through the organization as well.
For example, when a mistake occurs, leaders can choose between punishment or learning. A punitive response may stop the behavior temporarily, but a learning-oriented response builds accountability and competence. In food service, where errors are inevitable, how leaders respond determines whether employees hide problems or solve them.
Similarly, recognizing ethical behavior—helping a teammate, speaking up about a concern, choosing quality over speed—signals that integrity is valued, not just output.
CULTURE SHOWS UP WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING
True ethical culture reveals itself in unsupervised moments: how teams treat each other during late-night cleanups, how they handle guest complaints when managers aren’t present, how they respond to shortcuts when the pressure is high.
If leaders have consistently modeled and reinforced values, teams internalize them. The goal is not compliance, but commitment—where employees choose the right action because it aligns with who they are and what the organization stands for.
This is especially important in food service, where decentralized decision making is constant. Servers, cooks, and supervisors make dozens of micro-decisions each shift. Culture becomes the compass that guides those decisions when policies can’t.
BUILDING AN ETHICAL CULTURE INTENTIONALLY
Creating a culture where ethics are lived—not just stated—requires intention:
- Define non-negotiables clearly. Identify behaviors that will never be ignored, regardless of performance or pressure.
- Address issues early and respectfully. Silence is endorsement. Timely conversations prevent normalization.
- Model the behavior you expect. Leaders are the most visible teachers.
- Invite feedback and listen. Ethical cultures are two-way conversations.
- Reinforce through recognition. Celebrate integrity, not just results.
These practices don’t slow operations—they strengthen them. Teams that trust leadership and each other move faster, communicate better, and recover more effectively from challenges.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Whether you realize it or not, you’re always teaching. Your silence teaches, your reactions teach, your consistency – or lack of it – teaches.
Ultimately, culture is the accumulation of what leaders allow and what they correct. Every overlooked behavior teaches something. Every courageous conversation reinforces something else. Foodservice leaders don’t just manage operations, they shape people, habits, and standards.
A good friend and mentor once told me: Live what you believe, and you will change the world around you – whether you want to or not.
Culture is ethics in action. And in the daily reality of our industry, what you allow is exactly what you teach.
About the Author
Michael Kopec, CDM, CFPP
Michael Kopec is the Food Service Specialist at the Waukesha County Mental Health Center in Waukesha, Wisc., and has been a CDM, CFPP since 2001. Kopec holds a B.S. in Business Management & Leadership and an M.A. in Leadership & Innovation from Wisconsin Lutheran College. He also serves as an advisory board member for the dietetic technician/dietary manager program at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
