Restorative practices in business: Building a community for learning and change within organizations

Source: Adapted from a paper presented at the Reshaping Australian Institutions conference, held at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, 16-18 February 1999. Bethlehem, PA: International Institute for Restorative Practices.

Restorative justice and restorative practices are commonly discussed and applied to matters of crime and response to crime. In recent years, they have been extended by some to deal with issues of discipline in school settings. In this paper Ted Wachtel, president of the International Institute for Restorative Practices, takes restorative ideas and practices and expands their applicability even further to the sphere of business. In the business setting, asserts Wachtel, restorative practices help to repair harm caused by wrongdoing, mistakes, and conflict. Moreover, such practices can enhance a sense of community in a business. All of these benefits support the learning and change required in a business in the contemporary economic environment. To support his perspective, Wachtel discusses a punitive-permissive continuum, a restorative practices continuum, organizational change, and building a community for learning and change.