Discussion: Appropriate Use of Transparency
in Organizations
Consider the following two scenarios:
Scenario 1
Employees work in an atmosphere of distrust and fear. Leaders make decisions behind closed
doors. Changes to processes and staffing often occur unexpectedly without warning or
explanation. A few select people are given information and guard it jealously. Most employees
do not get an opportunity to give input or feedback.
Scenario 2
Employees work in a small company where everyone knows everything about everyone and the
rumor mill runs rampant. Leadership gives both praise and reprimands in public. They frequently
discuss employees’ personal affairs.
These scenarios illustrate two extremes of transparency in business. Maintaining the right degree
of transparency is a challenge for many organizations. Some leaders operate their organizations
with an open-book management style. Others believe in carefully maintaining the security of
information. Leaders must determine the appropriate level of transparency necessary for their
organizations to stay healthy.
To prepare for this Discussion, consider your experience with transparency of information and
decision making in organizations of which you have been a part, such as businesses or schools.
By Day 3
Post your evaluation of the appropriate use of transparency in an organization. In your analysis,
be sure to address the following:
Explain what you believe to be the most appropriate level of transparency for an
organization.
Identify any instances in which transparency would not be a good strategy.
Explain how a leader might exert influence-using transparency.
Be sure to support your work with a minimum of two specific citations from this week’s
Learning Resources and one or more additional scholarly sources.
Refer to the Week 8 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your
Instructor will use this rubric to assess your work.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.
By Day 5
Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:
Offer a critique of or polite disagreement with your colleague’s evaluation.
Provide an example from personal experience or scholarly literature that illustrates the
appropriate level of transparency outlined in your colleague’s post, and explain how it
illustrates your colleague’s viewpoint.
Please note that, for each response, you must include a minimum of one appropriately cited
scholarly reference.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what
insights you gained as a result of reading the comments your colleagues made.
