The Ethical Business’ Dilemma: Lack of Transparency-ability

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Oct, 2018

There are several indicators that we as a society are moving into an economic period that prioritizes trust and transparency. Consumers are becoming increasingly skeptical of advertising. Citizens question the factual soundness of political statements and news articles. Participants in social media platforms are publicly calling each other out for making illegitimate claims without citing their sources.

Because we’ve realized in recent decades that it’s all too easy to allow misinformation to penetrate the masses in a way that significantly alters population behaviors (e.g. vaccinations), we as the public are eager for information that is

  • True
  • Traceable
  • Accountable

The choices we make are dependent on our understandings of the outcomes of those decisions. We look to each other, the news, and the internet to source information that helps us make not only our big decisions like which university to attend, but also even small calls throughout the day like which cereal should I feed my kids?

Where do you find the information to make your every day decisions?
Photo by Raquel Martínez on Unsplash

In the age of the internet, the process of obtaining information, although seemingly more available than previous generations, is complicated at best. We have the unique problem of convenient access to information that is simultaneously too much to siphon through, not enough to get a full picture, not the right kind, and often misleading.

And unfortunately, the majority of us take it at face value. We make decisions or shape our thinking on the quickest and loudest information rather than the most relevant information.

“It’s almost as if in the search for ‘Mr. Right’, you settled for ‘You’ll do for now.’  …and then accidentally married him.”

The search non-refined

Consider this example: Think back to the last time you did an online search. What were you looking for? Why the Tower of Pisa leans? A diagnosis for your frequent headaches? A DIY walk-through on how-to build a bed frame? The definition of ‘Ubiquitous’?

Chances are that during your search, you didn’t go to the bottom of the page to push that little number “2”. Google has done an excellent job convincing us that the answers we seek are as obvious and immediate as asking the question in the first place. In some regards, Google is kind of just flexing its muscles by having so many search results pages.

“Hey heyyy… Look what I can do”.
– Google

This in itself is not a problem. In fact, it’s incredibly  convenient to feel that we’ve found an answer or solution with one simple click of our fingers. The problem is… what if the better or right answer is actually in one of those later pages and we stopped searching too early?

It’s almost as if in search for “Mr. Right”… you settled for “You’ll do for now.” … and then accidentally married him.

Business’ New Role in Society

Traditionally, business’ role in society was two-fold: provide jobs and maximize shareholder profits at whatever means necessary. Today, businesses are under pressure to take on additional responsibilities within society, for examples not causing harm to humans, animals, and planet, taking stances on social policies, and in many cases actually giving back to their communities.

>>> That is, they are increasingly being called upon to address some of society’s most pressing social issues.

Because these expectations have not historically been part of traditional business practices, there are no established structures in place to navigate tracking, communicating, and bringing transparency to business practices. Herein lies the problem (or perhaps… the opportunity!).

This is not a problem of business

Businesses will adapt to these increasing pressures placed on them by society and some already are. There is a growing trend of companies who are operating above and beyond traditional business practices: tracking their entire supply chain; improving ethical treatment of humans in their manufacturing partnerships; instilling the equal priorities of “People, Planet, Profit” into the very DNA of what makes them tick.

This is not a problem of consumer

Consumers are doing their best to navigate through the thick of what jumbled information is available. In many cases, and we see this increasingly with the Millennial generation, consumers are not only spending extra time to educate themselves, but are in fact, spending extra money to make purchases that more closely align with their values as best they can. However, apathy is admittedly an evident characteristic among many consumers. But, one has to ask – is that because it’s nearly impossible to decipher information? Is it possibly not true apathy, but apathy as a result of the feeling of impossibility?

The problem is with the entire structure

… or rather, the lack thereof.

There are no structures in place that make it easy for businesses to demonstrate the values they actually operate by. There are no structures in place that make it easy to know what business practices are behind each product we purchase. There is no structure for accountability, transparency, verification consistently applied to all products/services and all companies. It doesn’t exist. The reason it doesn’t exist is because we’ve never needed this structure before. It’s only recently that we’re starting to become aware and care about the how/where and by whom/what our products and services are made.

Now is the time to build structures for Transparency

Prioritizing trust and transparency is inevitable.  Now is the time to build the structures that bring transparency to the forefront – that reward transparency economically. The pressure and demand are there. Let’s build the structures that allow transparency and trust to become the norm, the expected, the available. This structure will create the possibility for us as a society to anchor something much closer to truth and authenticity into our decision-making processes whether big or small.

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PART 1

The Ethical Business’ Dilemma: Lack of Transparency-ability

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PART 3
How Businesses Market Social Responsibility Values