Insight Economy needs Civilisation.

Einsicht Ökonomie braucht politisch-moralische Einbettung.

Risk Analysis We identify the opportunities and limits of corporate responsibility in global supply chains.

Risikoanalyse Wir zeigen die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen unternehmerischer Verantwortung in globalen Lieferketten auf.

Best Practice Fewer normative appeals. More work on standards.

Best Practice Weniger normative Appelle. Mehr Arbeit an Standards.

Dialogue We identify the possibilities and limits of corporate responsibility in the area of conflict between business and ethics.

Dialog Wir identifizieren die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen unternehmerischer Verantwortung im Spannungsfeld zwischen Wirtschaft und Ethik.

Responsibility Creating values. Protecting human rights.

Verantwortung Werte schaffen. Menschenrechte schützen.

Economy The aim of our work is to minimise human rights violations in global supply chains.

Wirtschaft Ziel unserer Arbeit ist es, Menschenrechtsverletzungen in globalen Lieferketten zu minimieren.

Education No economic education without moral judgement, no ethical education without economic understanding.

Bildung Keine ökonomische Bildung ohne moralisches Urteilsvermögen.

Advocacy We act as advocates for business ethics issues with the aim of making ethical risks economically relevant for companies.  

Themenanwaltschaft Wir setzen uns für Fragen der Unternehmensethik ein, mit dem Ziel, ethische Risiken für Unternehmen wirtschaftlich relevant zu machen.

Research We promote the ability to discuss economic issues, make moral judgements and act responsibly.

Forschung Wir fördern die Fähigkeit, wirtschaftliche Themen zu diskutieren, moralische Urteile zu fällen und verantwortungsvoll zu handeln.

Mission Solutions for responsible business. Guidance for companies, politics and civil society.

Mission Lösungen für verantwortungsbewusstes Wirtschaften. Orientierung für Unternehmen, Politik und Zivilgesellschaft.

Education We are committed to firmly embedding business ethics competencies in education in the fields of economics and the social sciences.

Bildung Wir setzen uns dafür ein, wirtschaftsethische Kompetenzen fest in der wirtschafts- und sozialwissenschaftlichen Ausbildung zu verankern.

VIEW! – Responsibility in Business

The VIEW! teaching programme – Responsibility in Business – a collaborative project between the Hamburger Stiftung für Wirtschaftsethik and the Dr. Jürgen Meyer Stiftung, Cologne – aims to strengthen young people’s ability to form their own judgements. In the foundational Module A, participants learn to recognise their own values underlying specific decisions. At the same time, they practise arguing consistently on both the moral level (value judgements) and the factual level (factual judgements).

Module A

Within the VIEW! teaching concept, Module A effectively lays the foundation for Module B. Using various dilemma scenarios, participants practise arguing in discussions that require them to take and justify their own position. The dilemma discussion is a tried-and-tested method for strengthening moral judgement. The VIEW! teaching concept includes the following dilemma scenarios: the trolley problem, the torture dilemma and the role dilemma. These can be used either sequentially or individually.

Teaching resources and recommendations for delivery, as well as further supplementary exercises, are included in the Module A guide

In Module B, the focus is broadened and directed towards questions of responsibility in global contexts. Here, too, discourse and action skills are taught and practised. However, the focus is more on the level of factual judgement, though never detached from the question of moral judgement. Rather, the link between the two spheres is central.

The entire teaching concept, including worksheets, background materials, teaching guides and recommendations for implementation, is available to download free of charge.

Module B

In Module B of the VIEW! teaching programme, global value chains across various sectors are examined in detail. The starting point in each case is a real-life incident or conflict; for example, in the textiles sector, the collapse of a factory building, or in the mobile phone sector, the difficult working conditions in raw material extraction. Despite the complex circumstances surrounding such problems – some of which are almost impossible to grasp in their entirety – the question of ‘blame’ is not answered in a simplistic, one-dimensional manner, as is sometimes the case in the press and media. Instead, a role-play exercise is used to explore the perspectives of various stakeholders and examine the responsibility of all those involved. The individual ethical perspective is here broadened and deepened to encompass the spheres of business, society and politics. Pupils then develop proposed solutions and make the connection to existing levers for change.

PDF documents are available for download on the respective topic pages for a total of ten sectors – textiles, soya, mobile phones, fish, cocoa, tourism, cotton, palm oil, timber and gold – each containing teaching materials and a teaching guide. The content is not updated on an ongoing basis; therefore, it is possible that some details may not be up to date (for example, because new elections have taken place in the meantime or more recent economic data is available); however, this does not affect the effectiveness of the lesson unit.