How Transparent Are You?

Transparency is in high demand today: Government, business, marketing and even socializing (What are you doing on facebook? I’m writing a blog post) are being shaped by this cultural shift.

The U.S. public has been demanding the transparency of TARP fund allocation since the legislative process began, growing increasingly concerned over pork barrel government spending and an increasingly alarming national debt. The government, in turn demands transparency from the companies vying for these funds.

In the credit union world, leaders are demanding transparency from NCUA, following their corporate stabilization plan and conservatorship of U.S. Central and WesCorp. That is, a level of transparency on par with that required of natural person credit unions during regulatory examinations. Seems fair to me.

As consumers, we demand that sales processes be as transparent as possible, insisting on outside reviews, pricing estimates, condition, descriptions, warranty, confidentiality agreements, origins, dimensions, order confirmation, shipping time, estimated delivery date, tracking…you get the idea.

So, why is the demand for transparency higher than surgical masks right now? I came up with a few initial reasons (and invite you to share yours as well):

1. The nature of the current economic crisis: By now we are all well aware of how we got into the economic mess we are in. Whether you are talking about mortgage backed securities or the mortgages themselves, the underlying theme is one of allusion. In general, the public felt hoodwinked by a vale of complex terms and the unclear connectivity of their money to the assets they represented.
2. The internet: The internet has provided us with increasing instantaneity. If you can’t find an honest answer to a question in two minutes, it probably doesn’t exist. Now remember, I am also talking about your cell phone.
3. The internet 2.0: The static gates have come crashing down. Now that the internet is a living, breathing entity, anyone can put information on it. Johannes Gutenberg (inventor of the printing press) would roll over in his grave if he knew we could all disseminate information globally in a matter of seconds. Companies can no longer control their brands, only “manage” them. More blogs are read everyday than newspapers.
4. You tell me (comment below)

Check out this week’s episode on CYouth! Elliott takes a critical look at the transparency of three transactions: buying a wii and applying for a credit card at two very different financial institutions (bet you can’t guess which ones!).

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