Transparency In Business

Jeane Level 1

October 29, 2018, 2:49 am

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Transparency in business has numerous advantages. Chief among them is the probability of getting more sales. There is a higher likelihood of your prospective buying what you sell because they know how your business operates.

As to how transparent you business should be however, opinion is divided. There are some who insist that you should play some cards close to your chest.

Your thoughts? Do you think one should withhold some information about their business from both staff and customers?

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coolavender

coolavender

Transparency in business doesn't just help build consumer trust in the company but also trust and confidence within the organization. In many ways, it can lead to better operating efficiency when employees know their roles and are aware of the company's status, policies, and principles. However, transparency is also something which is more common in corporations and formal organizations where there are many stakes involved and where disclosure is often a necessity. Even then, a business can only be transparent up to a certain point. It can't be expected to divulge information that will compromise its competitiveness and longevity.

I wouldn't trust a company just because they are claiming to be a fully transparent company. There are ways to obscure and sugarcoat business flaws. They can choose to highlight the things that work well for the company and give little, harmless secrets away in the name of transparency.

8 years ago

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anyone01

anyone01

Possibly the great way to consider the significance of full and whole transparency in business is to stay aware of the truth. That a business is supposed not only to domesticate a network of people interested in the service or product it gives. However to provide something that benefits the community that contributes to or is affected by that company’s movements.

8 years ago

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stbrians

stbrians

There are two faces to this coin. Allow me to lay them bare on the ground.

Tails: Being transparent all your business ideas, services and goods. There are people who may use the same to outdo you in business. Others may copy and ape what you sell and may get you out of business.

Heads: Transparency may make you get more customers because they will know that you are not a cheat.

8 years ago

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rlpzbeermoney

rlpzbeermoney

I agree. In some ways, transparency can be a good thing. In fact, some businesses like Everlane openly disclose the cost of materials and labor for each of their clothing products to the consumer. Me as a consumer, I found that really interesting and trusting of them to do so. I'm more inclined to purchase from them than other brands because of this. The quality of their products certainly matches the price tag. Not all clothing brands can do that.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

Transparency in business is good there is no doubt about it but believe me all business have its secrets, so as much as being transparent is good because it makes you and your business to be well trusted, you have to guard your business secret in order to protect it.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

Always have transparency in your business so that you will get to have the trust of your customers. It will make all the operations credible and in the long run make people buy your products even more.

8 years ago

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jeffreyjose48

jeffreyjose48

I agree with you. Transparency in business has a lot of advantages. Getting more sales is the biggest of them.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

You cannot possibly forget the possibility of customers bringing in their friends and relatives on board to purchase the products that you have. Since they trust you, they will easily refer anyone they come across to you.

8 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Yes, having cheaters and copiers in business is kind of expected. I have seen some of the people focusing more on the wrong side because they want to remain in business longer. But overall I'd say that transparency needs ton be moderated. Not too much. And not too small either.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

There are some information that are privy to some people and some that are completely taken off the table with some people.

Now when it comes to transparency in any kind of business, only the information that your customers are supposed to know is what you should provide for them. There are some information they would have and it would turn to hurt your business instead of help it.

8 years ago

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emiaj55

emiaj55

In my opinion, in terms of servicing business, such as transportation or house building projects, transparency is a very good thing. With this your customers will know the very cost of the project, from the materials to labor. Then they would know that you have integrity and would enjoy doing more business with you. But in market and sales, partial transparency is best. You can't show all your trick and techniques becuase marketing the same products is more or less a copy business.

8 years ago

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Barida

Barida

Having a contract work requires us to be honest with the person. They will always want to know what we are going to get by getting involved in the business and the way we handle the business will decide if we are getting the work again in the near future.

8 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

cmoneyspinner

Any prudent person in business KNOWS that everything that happens on “The Inside” is NOT up for PUBLIC DISCLOSURE. “Transparency” is a buzz word that many people have latched on to. It's a euphemism for DON'T DEFRAUD, LIE, CHEAT and STEAL. An honest business person doesn't need anybody to tell them to be “transparent”, i.e. to tell the truth, don't “cook” the books or falsify accounting records, be socially responsible, etc. It's the crooks who need to be constantly reminded or rather ... WARNED.

8 years ago

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GeorgeDr

GeorgeDr

In my opinion business transparency is a must. Let me pose this question : In what occasion a business tends to not be transparent ? The only thing that comes to my mind is dishonesty. Hiding facts or being partially honest with the customers. If you "neglect" something which the customer deems important , that is not just being dishonest , that's a scam. So it is firstly ethical to the customer to be treated with honesty and secondly it is not worth the risk to lose your credibility as a business because you were dishonest about something .

8 years ago

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Barida

Barida

As long as it is not classified information, then I think business owners should always be transparent about the business. One thing about letting the clients know some things about how you operate is that it gives them the confidence to always do business with you without having any doubts on it.

8 years ago

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thejoyrevolutio

thejoyrevolutio

I always think being honest is what consumer looks for. Costumer leans more to those business if they are transparent. I guess a company that divulge their all information about their products might cause rival companies to copy their secret. I think a company should only deciminate info that benificial for both the business and costumers.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

Well, as for me, as long as you don't play dirty, it's not that bad to be a little bit secretive about your business. It is because playing the most transparent one in the industry doesn't really do you good at all especially if you have tough competitors. Putting everything in front of you may cause your competitors to know your weak side and up to what extent you can only do. Thus, making them the ones who benefit from you.

8 years ago

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jaymish

jaymish

Yes to both. In my opinion there is no honor among thieves. I've seen many businesses started by members of staff who insider secrets from the bosses. Customers tend to follow these members of staff because they probably offer services at a cheaper rate and they are the ones that have been dealing with them. Keep as much information to you as as you can, especially about expansion efforts or newer technology.

8 years ago

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csk81

csk81

Transparency in business is very important and place a crucial role, and simple honesty.When you add in transparency to your everyday work with your employees they seem to be more engaged and intrigued by what is going on. Why? Because, they actually understand what is going on, now that they have the same information as you, they can help you and even have ideas for you to go off. Bonus: Employees are now a critical cog in the solution

8 years ago

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anyone01

anyone01

Because it is not an choice it is a essential in case you are carrying out a business that provides cost to peoples lives and is essential to society, Then you need to be clear with what you offer. Enterprise is a relationship among you and your clients, carriers, personnel and each stake holder you have a transaction with, nobody desires to be buddies with a liar.

8 years ago

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NerdIndeed

NerdIndeed

I believe that you should keep a few of your business secrets to yourself or close family. I mean like, how much the business is making, your profit margins, etc. Being transparent with these figures is not good practice and may put you in a vulnerable position someday.

8 years ago

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Jstreeter26

Jstreeter26

I think transparency in business is extremely important when it comes to things that will affect consumers. Things that can hurt your business however maybe would be better to be less transparent.

8 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

To be honest I don't know how much sensitive information you could hide from your competitors if they suddenly became interested in how your business operates. They could simply hire one of your employees and get most of the information they want from them. That actually is a good reason why employees shouldn't be mistreated. They could leave and start their own business. Formidable competitors they would be.

8 years ago

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esteban123

esteban123

I believe that transparency in business is a must so that we can have a better earnings because customers trust business that are having some clear and precise rules and regulations. We need it to attract more prospect customers in the future that is why it is very important in the company's success.

8 years ago

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mitan143

mitan143

In one article that I have read, it mentioned two definitions of transparency - one defines as "lack of hidden agendas or conditions, accompanied by the availability of full information required for collaboration, cooperation, and collective decision making”, the other one is “essential condition for a free and open exchange whereby the rules and reasons behind regulatory measures are fair and clear to all participants”. Therefore I must say that it is somehow important in running a business. I also agree in one part in the article that says "the purpose of transparency is to demonstrate that a company is truly the kind of business that it wants people to think it is". Definitely it is the main purpose of transparency in business, why it matters. It is to give a certainty to your customers or clients because transparency is assurance.

8 years ago

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esteban123

esteban123

Well that is really great since you really explain it in detailed, I really agree on what you say that transparency is really important to business because it gives an assurance to the costumes that a particular company would be true to his mission and vision which is to protect the rights of customers and by giving fair prices and the best service that it should received.

8 years ago

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cks003

cks003

Transparency refers to no hidden agenda or conditions in business especially in business collaboration, decision making etc. When dealing with staff members, a certain degree of transparency like in decision making process, promotion, assessment etc encourages and boosts working morale. But top management decisions are sometimes business sensitive and disclosing them may invite competition and unnecessary reactions and comments. Thus, management has to draw a line. Whereas when dealing with consumers, transparency about the quality and cost of the products have to be disclosed as those information are the most pertinent in influencing purchase decision and confidence on a product.

8 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I think having transparency in business helps from both client trust and the legal side. Like what you use to make product knowledge can help with the legal side as well as building trust in minds of the clients side. Most of the people learn to make proper business if they gain trust. So one should be thinking about having some sort of transparency in their approach. That's what I have learned.

8 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

Eh, the answer to this is always going to vary depending on the person’s ethical standards. For example, it’s unethical of Nike (and other big clothing brands) to not disclose the fact that their products are made by children in East Asian sweatshops. That being said, would it be a good business decision on their part to openly admit this fact? Of course not, because people would stop buying their brand.

There are also situations where you might want to withhold information simply because the majority of people might misinterpret the situation. Transparency is important with regards to ethics, in my opinion, but some things can be withheld for the sake of business.

8 years ago

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superlicca

superlicca

Transparency in business is important when it comes to gaining the trust of your customers. You are building a great reputation that can increase loyal customers. Being transparent means you involve people or customers in your goal. You just need to be careful with the details or information you share since these can be used against your business.

8 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

Transparency in business is important when it comes to gaining the trust of your customers. You are building a great reputation that can increase loyal customers.

Transparency certainly does build trust. The customers who trust you will probably help to inadvertently promote your business when they recommend the products or services you sell. You stand to win much if you disclose a few "secrets" which your competitors do not.

8 years ago

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builtwell

builtwell

Transparency refers to clearness, openness, and accountability. In business it means profiling of providing details of company's background experiences including people's credential like for instance in the construction industry. We need to know the managing capability of the project in charge because trusting anyone is something that very hard to do specially when you are not yet familiar of the person's background. It is mainly for this reasons that profiling is essential that would also show the category and contractor's capability to do the works, and the same way they must be a compliant to all documents as required by the government. Further more, when the contractor are already eligible and subsequently, awarded the project scopes, he must be transparent in carrying out the project deliverable and its undertakings. The customer or project owner must be fully aware of the project progress and status. With regards to business acumen and the strategy creation processes referring to technical, financial; pricing and manpower loading of the project works, it should never be disclosed to customer because the information provided might give him a spark to initiate and create similar business as his own. To protect our business interest, we can only submit the BOQ or the build on quantities and the work breakdown structure, as well as the project cost. The bottom line as to why the customer acquiring the expertise of a certain business organization because he has lack of knowledge and capabilities of building his own projects, for this. He needs to tap the services of people who has plenty of knowledge, experiences which has done similar projects in the past.

8 years ago

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builtwell

builtwell

Transparency depends on the type of business that you are in. Like for instance food chain business that requires greater customer contact thus transparency is essential to increase consumer confidence on the and service offered by the said food chain business. The order taker must be honest in all his dealings with the customer and at the same time people friendly and approachable.

The customer must be fully aware of the food preparation and processes before it goes to and serve on the food taker, The customer judgement will be based on the taste of the food, preparation, delivery and timeliness of orders, cleanliness of surroundings, including the physical arrangement of tables and chairs, and the gestures of all the staff towards the customer.

Another important things in relation to business transparency relatively to different industry, there shall be a business contract agreement that clearly stated a complete definitions and obligation between the two(2) parties in the contract because we cannot do business without any contract on hand. The main purpose of business contract was to delimit and to avoid any further confusion and misunderstanding that would led to conflict and possible derailment of business relations.

8 years ago

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burgosmichael24

burgosmichael24

I have learned that the main purpose of business is not just to earn profit but to serve the community. Transparency in business is good and can help you gain the trust of your customers, however consumers trust is not only based on transparency but also in quality of your goods and services. You have to understand that you also have to protect your business.

8 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

Pardon me for asking but what exactly do you mean by tranparency in business? Has it something to do with the prices that you are to be open on how much you got the item that you are selling it for a mark up? I have read several comments above and all I had seen is the word transparency but I couldn't find an explanation of what transparency in business is all about.

8 years ago

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M1ndPrototype

M1ndPrototype

Business transparency is the process of being open, honest, and straightforward about various company operations, simple as that.

6 years ago

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TomSands

TomSands

You have to have business transparency in almost all the countries, this is good to know before starting a business. I always look for information on the Internet, and read various articles about economic projects and so on, in short, I constantly improve my knowledge in this matter, and I am the kind of person who is in business. The other day I read an interesting article on this site https://www.discovermagazine.com/s...est-llc-services. There was a lot of useful information for me personally, which helped me a lot. Now I know who to turn to when I am looking to start my own business.

6 years ago

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OliverHoward

OliverHoward

I think transparency is the key for a growing bussines

6 years ago

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LiamNoQ

LiamNoQ

I think it is very important to have a transparent business. You will never have stress with laws and police. Transparency fosters trust, and trust is important for the health of every relationship under the sun. Building happiness and engagement through transparency means updating the entire company, regularly, on strategies and current events. This is why I try to calculate and pay all my taxes correctly. Luckily I found a site that helps me to calculate them very fast. I run a small business so I don't have enough time to pay another person to calculate them.
_____________________
https://taxfyle.com/small-business-tax-calculator

6 years ago

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oliverqq

oliverqq

Soon I will open my own business, and it's good that I came across your forum. And according to your words, I understand that a company should be transparent. By this, I mean that a business, for example, should have at least a website with its products. If this is the case, then it is good; if not, please explain in more detail what it is. So, on the website Calxa.com I learned how to quickly calculate the budget and all types of expenses. And yes, I would like to add that I want to open a sewing business and open a couple of kiosks throughout the state since my budget is 10 million. Therefore, I will be glad to hear any of your advice and suggestions on what I should do.

5 years ago

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milaniagreen

milaniagreen

Fortunately, now there are a lot of tools to increase sales, you just have to make the right choice in favor of the one that will work with your business. The more amenities you provide for the client, the more it will increase loyalty to your business, and a chatbot is an excellent option for this. I found a useful article on this topic here https://blueskyfunnel.com/6-of-the...s-for-wordpress/

5 years ago

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milaniagreen

milaniagreen

When it comes to SEO, the success of your organic search efforts depends a lot on how efficiently you find, research, analyze, and target keywords for your website, gaining organic traffic to your site

5 years ago

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asqwer

asqwer

Hi guys, what a wonderful and thoughtful thread! As a young entrepreneur who's just starting his small business, advice like this are of incredible help. Being a very kind and extrovert person, I think I will be as transparent as possible. But as some of you mentioned, a successful business should have some secrets to protect it from external threats. For example, a good friend of mine has recently taught me how to create fake pay stubs, a feature that could prove to be a helpful instrument, especially in this competition-driven environment. I'll keep following this thread. Cheers!

5 years ago

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