The WCGE is a non-profit think tank. We offer ethical orientations to current and future leaders to equip them with systematic analysis and decision-making schemes that can be applied in everyday work situations. We are an independent institution and take a global outlook. Our work is based on a long-standing tradition of academic research and the specific formats we offer include seminars, dialogue processes and research as well as teaching projects. We cooperate with politics, industry, science, civil society and the church.
From May 11 to 15, 2025, we welcomed 21 doctoral students and early-career researchers to Wittenberg in order to offer time and space for concentrated academic work. The retreat brought together participants in a supportive setting to advance their dissertation and publication projects.
Our first summer school of the Doctoral Academy "Business and Leadership Ethics" on Moral Judgments and (Un)Ethical Behavior is taking place from August 24–28, 2025, in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany.
We are inviting scholars from all disciplines to come to Wittenberg from October 8–10, 2025 and discuss research relating to ethics in business - both from a normative and an empirical perspective.
Doctoral students working on topics related to business or leadership ethics can apply to our 2nd Writing Retreat of the Doctoral Academy in Lutherstadt Wittenberg from May 11-15, 2025.
At the state funeral, the WCGE founder praises the recently deceased 39th US President for his bridges and visions.
On November 28th, four of our PhD students graduated from the doctoral program „Ethics and Responsible Leadership in Business“. This weeks marks the transition of the program to our new „Doctoral Academy: Business and Leadership Ethics“
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Ethical competencies are a key ingredient for being a successful leader and manager. More specifically, these competencies need to be developed by understanding ideas and learning to apply instruments that are truly relevant to everyday life. The coaching we provide in our seminars draws on ideas from academia as well as insights and experience from practice. We work interactively with partners from diverse fields and constantly adapt our training to ensure that we deal with issues of current relevance.
Decision-makers in the economy face significant societal pressure. They are expected to be successful in competitive markets – and at the same time, they need to be role models of integrity and responsible behavior. Managers must always do the ‘right’ thing.
Diplomacy means negotiating, cooperating and building trust (H.D. Genscher). Many conflicts and sources of tension in the global political sphere can be managed, de-escalated or resolved by diplomacy.
As work on the reformation of the Energy sector in Germany progresses, it has become all the more clear that citizen’s faith in the necessity, achievability and fairness of the changes being made will determine the success of the movement.
Challenges and conflicts in the modern world make cooperation more necessary than ever. Cooperation is based on trust. Therefore, working closely with stakeholders in a dialogue to build mutual trust is an important function at our Center. When we are involved in dialogue processes, we take on the role of a fair administrator, contribute ethical impulses to the discussion and maintain the focus on the common goal.
In 2007, The German Federation of Chemical Employer's Associations (BAVC) and the German Trade Union for Mining, Chemical and Energy Industries (IG BCE) started the “Wittenberg Process for the Social Partners in the Chemical Industry” with the support of the WCGE.
In 2008, the Wittenberg Center teamed up with leading corporations and organisations in the German economy to start the “Code of Responsible Conduct for Business” Initiative.
Between 2003 and 2008, Israeli and Jordanian delegations met at the Wittenberg Center to discuss their economies and potential avenues for economic cooperation.
Ethics is the theoretical discipline concerned with morality. In modern society, there is an omnipresent feeling of doubt and uncertainty regarding moral standards. Hence, we are engaged in research and teaching on the topic of ethics – via endowed chairs, doctoral scholarships and via our own research projects.
Funded by the German Karl Schlecht Foundation, the Wittenberg-Center for Global Ethics hosts a doctoral program for outstanding young scholars and practitioners who develop scientifically well-founded and practically applicable answers to questions of business, corporate, and leadership ethics.
In cooperation with various different partners, the WCGE works towards the enhancement of research and teaching in ethics.
The WCGE publishes papers dealing with societal issues, as well as monographs to the foundations and specific topics in the field of ethics.
