Transparency

Transparency is open, honest, and accessible communication. Transparency essentially has three purposes:

1. to provide information to publics
2. to increase participation
3. to hold organizations accountable

Therefore, transparency affects trust. With the advent of the internet and social media, the transparency of nonprofit organizations, corporations, and governmental institutions has increased. The ability to engage in two-way communication and dialogue with publics is unprecedented because of these communication tools. Although this interactivity should serve to increase transparency, trust, and accountability, Kruckeberg warns of the dangers of pseudo-transparency.

Pseudotransparency is an involuntary or unknown transparency which ultimately creates mistrust and inauthenticy because it is based on disingenuous means. For example, when employees are made to “like” their company’s Facebook page pseudotransparency exists because most casual observers would think the employees liked the page of their own volition.

Asynchronous transparency is the situation that occurs when publics such as customers demand and expect full transparency from the organizations with which they interact, but are less than honest about themselves. For example, some people make false claims about companies on social media suggesting that products they bought were defective when such claims are not true. 

Others might leave poor reviews and use fake or untraceable names such as customer2468 on those comments thereby making it impossible for organizations to follow-up and to respond to the accusations.  Therefore, ethical practices and ethical communication underlie transparent communication.