Wesfarmers: Evaluating Ethical Business Practices and Recommendations

This report examines Wesfarmers' ethical business practices, focusing on their adherence to human rights principles, particularly in the context of the UN Global Compact. It explores their approach to ethical sourcing of raw materials, aiming to prevent child labor, forced labor, and slavery. The report analyzes the positive aspects, such as diversity in employment and inclusivity, and the challenges faced, including potential discrimination and ensuring truly ethical sourcing. It recommends innovative business practices, including equality and accountability business practices, to further advance human rights compliance. The benefits and challenges of implementing these recommendations are also discussed, highlighting the potential for improved employee rights and adherence to global human rights principles, while acknowledging the profit-driven nature of businesses as a potential obstacle to implementation. The report concludes with a call to action for Wesfarmers to implement these recommendations.

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Introduction
Most business operations are undertaken under stipulated guidelines and rules that aim at
protecting the rights of their employees. As much as the business organizations may have the
power to control decisions in their companies and organizations, they have to work under set
regulations that are universally acceptable in relation to human rights principles as stipulated in
the United Nations global compact (UN Human Rights 2011). However not all the businesses
have adopted all the recommended business practices that protect the interests of the labour
regulations. There have been cases of numerous bad business practices such as child labour that
have been reported from big global profit-making enterprises.
Wesfarmers, Australia’s largest employer and one of the largest business entities within the
country have employed an ethically-driven strategy in dealing with all the aspects and
requirement of a clean business process (Wesfarmers 2016). They have ventured in business
practices that are community-centered such as ethical sourcing and emphasis on human rights.
They have further a diversified a system in addressing inclusivity in terms of gender equality and
consideration of indigenous people in their employment patterns. The ethical sourcing of raw
materials means that the organization ensures that at no given time they are supplied with
materials that originate from abuse of human rights such as forced labour, child labour or slavery
as required in the principles 2 and 5 of the UN global compact (UN Human Rights 2010).
However, ethical sourcing of raw materials may be controversial if the company does not make
efforts to indeed establish that their supply of raw materials does not originate from disgraceful
acts of forced labour or child labour and abuse of human rights. This means that, Wesfarmers’
principles of adherence to the totality of human rights can only be termed as valid only if they
put it in action rather than writings in their promotional booklets.

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Positive and negative Lessons
Diversity in employment and inclusion of all kinds of people without discriminating about who
they are is fundamental in addressing the principle 2 of the United Nations Global Compact rules
on human rights. In this principle, employers and/ or businesses are strictly required to ensure
that their operations do not violate human rights in any way. People of all genders, races and
ethnic backgrounds are all entitled to equal employment opportunities at work places. In addition
to diversified employment plan; the issue of sourcing of raw materials from external suppliers
could be ethically done if the organizations put in strict measures in ensuring there is no violation
of human rights in terms of child labour, forced labour or slavery from the original source.
However, these practices do not guarantee good results in totality. There are challenges and
even, for instance, in the case of diversity in employment structure, there is high likelihood of
discrimination of the “less privileged” groups of employees at work places and this has been
manifested in bullying and even violation of human rights. Furthermore, “ethical’ sourcing
aimed at preserving human dignity does not guarantee clean sources of raw materials for big
companies like Wesfarmers. Tangible actions and frameworks are needed to properly seize all
the problems of child labour menace, forced labour and even slavery activities.
Innovative business practice recommendations
In line to the global principle 5 on abolition of child labour and principle 2 on respecting all the
human rights, there are better business practices that can be undertaken by bigger organizations
such as the Wesfarmers in advancing the UN global compact (United Nations n.d.). While most
organizations are interested in the profits much more than respecting avenues of getting those
profits; it is imperative from a social point of view to sustain what sustains you. Therefore, in
relation to the above lessons learnt, then the following recommendations are necessary.

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Firstly, business should create equality business practices within their organizations as a way of
improving the diversity in employment process. Equality business practice is a more inclusive in
that it encourages the inclusion of people from across the ethnic and racial divides. As much as
hierarchical order may exist for the purposes of organizational management, human rights are
however universal and what is entitled to a manager in human rights rules still applies to the
junior staff member (Workplace Relations Commission n.d.).
Secondly, the businesses should apply the accountability business practice which promotes
continued address of human rights at all levels (Oxfam Novib 2014). With accountability, firms
can address what is within its scope including the rights of the employees and ensuring their
rights are not violated. Accountability means that businesses have to conform to the United
Nations Global Compact, by ensuring the protection of all the rights of their employees and
avoiding violation of these rights. Furthermore, accountability brings about responsibility out of
the organizational managements in addressing pertinent issues in regard to the well being of their
employees and staff (Bivins n.d.).
Benefits and Challenges of the Recommendations
The implementation of these recommendations would have a lasting impact in addressing the
employee rights and the outlined global human rights principles. These recommendations are an
added advantage to what already exists in recommended business practices list. They can easily
be used to seal the loopholes left by other business practices in addressing the interests of the
employees and adhering to universal rules of operation. However, challenges are inevitable,
because, since most firms’ target is to make maximum profit as possible; getting them to
implement such practices is a big challenge. Most organizations do not relish accountability for
what does not directly generate profits for them and this is a major blow.

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References
Bivins, Thomas. "Responsibility and Accountability." n.d.: 20-38.
Oxfam Novib. "Corporate Accountabilty." Oxfam Novib Strategy Paper on Corporate
Accountabilty, 2014.
UN Human Rights. "Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights." Implementing the
United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, 2011.
UN Human Rights. "Recommended Pricniples and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human
Trafficking." Office of the High Commiisioner For Human Rights, 2010.
United Nations. "Human Rights: A basic Handbook for UN Staff." Office of the High of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, n.d.
Wesfarmers. "2016 Annual Repport: Delivering Value Today and Tomorrow." Wesfarmers,
2016.
Workplace Relations Commission. "Guide to Employment, Labour and Equality Law."
Workplace Relations Commission, n.d.