Business Operations and Human Rights Responsibilities

Business Operations and Human Rights Responsibilities Name University Affiliation Address Business Operations and Human Rights Responsibilities Situation Businesses play a central role in shaping the manner in which the society transforms and progresses. As agents of change and progress, it is quintessential that businesses take responsibility for their actions and the effects of said actions on the rest of the society. In this regard, it becomes vital to follow-up on the operations of businesses as a means of ensuring they are compliant with best practices and that they observe the safety of their employees as well as of the society around them. In Australia, businesses have to take responsibility for their actions, regardless of whether the outcomes in question are positive or negative (Pender & O’Brien, 2017). This forms the crux of the matter surrounding business operations and how they stand to impact the performance of businesses as well as the communities around them. As far as human rights are concerned, businesses need to ensure that human rights are observed not only in their own operations, but also those of their partners and suppliers as a means of guaranteeing full-scale observation of human rights as they conduct their business. This paper attempts to explore some of the challenges that businesses face in ensuring the observation of human rights across their operations and how said challenges can be realistically solved. In this regard, it becomes effective to analyze some of the problems that businesses in their operations and how such problems can contribute towards the abuse of human rights. In this regard, a clear picture of the operational challenges that face businesses can be obtained, helping further elaborate on how these challenges promote the abuse of human rights. Once this has been established, this paper also seeks to explore possible solutions to these problems, and particularly solutions that can be implemented in the business setting (mainly in Australia). In this regard, the challenges caused by business operations are in a much better position to be solved, which works well in favor of ensuring the observation of human rights. This issue is a significant one in the modern business setting because the observation of human rights is one of the core factors that defines humanity. As such, creating an environment in which businesses are allowed to trample on human rights in their pursuit of profit defeats the purpose of the governing systems that allow such businesses to operate in the first place (Bravo, n.d). At the same time, this is a means towards restoring value and dignity to the work undertaken by employees across the entirety of the business scope. Both of these issues work well to ensure that businesses continue to take responsibility for their operations and ensuring that said operations do not violate human rights. Problem 1: Supply Chain Abuse In Australia, as well as across the world, supply chain abuses are a common trait of many business operations. However, it is important to note that many businesses, particularly those operating in developed countries, take effective measures to avoid the abuse of human rights in their operations (Pender & O’Brien, 2017). However, it is not uncommon to observe human rights abuses in the overseas subsidiaries or partners of said companies. This is especially the case in Africa and Asia, where many companies move some of their operations (particularly production) as a cost-cutting measure. For instance, it is quite common to hear of major companies such as clothing manufacturers having partnered with businesses in Asia that run sweatshops. While businesses can absolve themselves of any culpability, this only points to the negligence of businesses is assessing their partners to ensure that they are conforming to the human rights standards they observe at their home countries. A good example of this operational challenge is exhibited in the case of clothing retailers such as Forever 21 that partner with companies that employ underage children in their sweatshops in India and Bangladesh. In such a case, the operational procedures designed by the company to cut on costs end up being detrimental to the ethical practices of the company by way of abusing human rights and engaging in child labor through partners (Giuliani, 2014). This then becomes a serious issue with regards to the role the business plays. In Australia, for instance, any individual or organization that partners with or buys products from Forever 21 is essentially endorsing such operational practices. This highlights some of the core issues that businesses face, and how they stand to influence their image and brand in the market as well as the lives of their employees and partners. In essence, an abusive supply chain equates to an abusive company. Problem 2: Child Labor It is also important to note that one of the major operational problems caused by businesses is the engagement of child labor (Salcito et al, 2013). Today, child labor has become a core part of business operations, particularly in areas where poverty levels are high. As many families struggle to earn a living, children end up being forced to leave school and to participate in wage earning as a means of ensuring the family can survive. This directly robs such children of the right to education and propagates the abuse of children in such communities. In fact, ensuring children receive primary education is one of the Millennium Development Goals that many countries are actively pursuing. As a result, governments, such as the one of Australia, have made it costly and virtually impossible for businesses to exploit child labor, let alone putting in place operational constraints to prevent such abuses in the first place. It is equally vital to note that many businesses that contribute actively towards the engagement of child labor are predominantly in poor countries where such abuses are not entirely considered illegal. According to Amnesty International, children as young as 7 years old are being engaged as miners in the mining of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kelly, 2017). Cobalt is a valuable mineral and one that many smartphone companies, among them Microsoft and Apple, are constantly buyin...