Human Rights in Business
I have always been relatively good with numbers and is usually a subject that I can learn
quickly. Additionally, my father has a MBA and did accounting work while I was growing up. I
thus, decided to pursue accounting and found the subject to be entertaining.
My goal as an accounting major is ultimately to earn my 150 hours of course work so that
I can sit for the CPA exam. I would say I can be very passionate about the field of accounting.
The professors in the business building offer great advice and are always willing to help you
determine the best path of study. I initially intended on double majoring in accounting and
finance but one teacher spoke about the opportunity of getting my MBA and achieving my 150
credit hours for the CPA in the same amount of time. This seemed like a great opportunity and is
my ultimate goal for college.
After graduation and earning my CPA I would like to become involved in the
practice of public accounting. I believe the first couple years of experience I gain in public
accounting will be invaluable and will be great to have on my resume if I intend to switch to
private accounting.
There are several human rights issues that occur through the practice of business.
Problems such as glass ceilings that can occur for minorities and women. “A mere 20 years ago”
Shalhoub(2010) states, “females constituted only 16 percent of the CPA population, with just one
percent at the partner and principal level of public accounting firms.” This is a problem that has
been identified but still occurs. As I move forward into a career it will be important to keep this
in mind to possibly help prevent this from occurring.
Additionally, businesses may be faced with a situation to globalize their supply chain and
send their production line to countries that offer cheaper labor. When this occurs it is a possibility
that the citizens that are producing these products are offered unfair wages and a work
environment that is not adequate. This can be seen with several multinational corporations in the
United States. A major example would be from the Hershey chocolate company. Manza(2014)
writes, “most did not know that the chocolate dissolving on their tongues was partially produced
by other children laboring under difficult conditions in West Africa.” This is just a small example
to show that even the largest companies can exploit humans and abuse their rights.
It is important for businesses to be aware of potential human rights violations and do
their best to prevent such situations from occurring. When applying to companies, this will be a
