Transparency

Transparency

Transparency can be described as the process of openly sharing information. I believe that transparency is important in our lives and even in institutions such as the government and organizations. Transparency occurs as more of an ethical and moral inclinations where lack of transparency can lead to mistrust and a negative influence on the people who need the information (Birkinshaw & Cable 88). In the 21st century, however, we realize that information has become one of the most crucial commodities leading to crimes such as information theft. The great need for information causes complications to transparency. I hope to understand what people believe is the right level of transparency and what complications they believe are born out of availing Information.

One of the people I interviewed was a secretary from a middle-sized organization. Christine, the secretary, believed that the level of transparency is relative. In her opinion, transparency levels should be determined by the level of risks that could occur if the information was overshared. From the conversation we had, I understood that transparency varies from one situation to the other. Transparency in business is different from transparency in areas such as healthcare. In business, for example, transparency could lead to losing competitive advantage while transparency in healthcare increases healthcare outcomes (Biris 103). It led me to ask the question, ” how does a business determine the appropriate levels of transparency?” She answered, “It all depends on how the information can be interpreted. Businesses only expose information that cannot be used by competitors to gain an advantage on them. They also expose basic and necessary information.” From this information, I realized that oversharing in business could jeopardize the position of an organization. Organizations only expose information required by the regulatory bodies and those stipulated in specific policies. Most of their information, including operational and manufacturing details, are always kept secret to prevent other companies from gaining a competitive advantage.

The other person I interviewed was a nurse in a healthcare facility. Brianna, the nurse, believes that transparency, especially in healthcare, is vital. Healthcare institutions are highly dependent on information to make accurate and better healthcare decisions to improve health outcomes. Transparency of information, for example, across departments, allows for inter-professional collaboration that leads to improved and patient-focused care. I learned from his conversation that lack of transparency between nurses and doctors, for example, may lead to an inaccurate diagnosis that affects the quality of health of the patient. The necessity for internal transparency was understood; however, I could not understand the external transparency for healthcare institutions. It led me to the question, ” how much do healthcare organizations share about their work processes and other records?” Brianna answered, ” When it comes to work processes, there is a lot of transparency, especially because the goal of all healthcare professionals is to improve health. Professionals across healthcare institutions can consult on issues that challenge them. However, there is information that cannot be disclosed to the public, such as patient records. Performance records of the company may not also be exposed to the public but is only availed to the relevant stakeholders and decision-makers.” I realized that healthcare facilities generally have more transparency than other business organizations. There is more internal and inter-institutional transparency. The primary reason behind this is the fact that healthcare professionals rely heavily on information to make decisions. The fact that all healthcare providers strive towards increasing the health outcomes of patients also makes it easier to share information across departments and hospitals (Lloyd).

From my evaluation of both Christine’s and Brianna’s interview, I found conflicting views on the complications of transparency. The issue of transparency clearly evokes an ethical dilemma and should be approached individually in different situations. I realized that in some cases, oversharing of information was lethal as it would mean giving competitors a competitive advantage. On the other hand, I realized that a lack of transparency could also lead to negative effects such as misdiagnosis in healthcare. Even in institutions that highly value transparency, a few elements of transparency could cause significant damage. If patient information in healthcare is leaked, it could cause legal actions against the facility and its professionals. I can conclude, therefore, that transparency must be established after an evaluation of the different risks the information could pose to an organization.

Biriș, Bogdan. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Transparency and Public Participation in Investment Arbitration.” Revista română de drept internațional 17 (2017): 100-117.

Birkinshaw, Julian, and Cable, Dan. “The dark side of transparency.” McKinsey Quarterly (2017): 88-95.

Lloyd, Robert. Quality health care: a guide to developing and using indicators. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2017.