Second Chances: Addressing Ethical Missteps at Work

This Open Access book introduces the Second Chances Framework, a practice-informed tool designed to evaluate whether individuals who have committed ethical wrongdoing in organizational settings should be granted another opportunity. Drawing from twelve years of Executive MBA classroom discussions, the framework is built on real-world cases shared by experienced professionals across diverse sectors. It identifies five key factors—precedent, reparation, trust, transparency, and fairness—that guide structured reflection and ethical judgment.

The chapters delve into critical questions such as: How should organizations weigh the seriousness of the original wrongdoing? Can trust be rebuilt, and what role does transparency play in ethical decision-making? Through detailed case studies and expert analysis, the book explores the tensions and interplay between these factors, offering a flexible yet robust approach to navigating complex ethical dilemmas. The framework is not a prescriptive formula but a tool for informed judgment, making it an essential read for those involved in organizational ethics.

Aimed at scholars, practitioners, and students of organizational ethics, this book provides a structured, practical guide for navigating second chance decisions. It answers the call to embed ethics more deeply in organizational practice, ensuring decisions are grounded in ethical integrity and transparency.

Øyvind Kvalnes is Professor in the Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour at BI Norwegian Business School, Norway. He has facilitated moral reasoning sessions in a range of organizations in the private and public sectors. Author of Fallibility at Work (2017), Digital Dilemmas (2020) and Moral Reasoning at Work (2019), all published by Palgrave Macmillan, Øyvind's main research interests are in ethics, moral psychology, leadership, and excellence in organizations.