-
- QUESTION
- Identify the human services administrator and briefly share one example of how he or she provided transparency and accountability for his or her organization.
• Explain three steps that you, as a human services administrator, can take to provide transparency and accountability to the public for an organization with which you are associated or one with which you are familiar.
• Share an insight you had regarding any differences in the way that you might provide transparency and accountability in comparison to the human services administrator you selected from this week’s video.
| Subject | Business | Pages | 3 | Style | APA |
|---|
Answer
Transparency and Public Trust
Transparency is considered a fundamental aspect in gaining the trust of the stakeholder in an organization. However, having a clear meaning and significance of transparency is important in understanding the right steps which can be undertaken to ensure public trust. The misuse of funds is one of the factors which can cause a breach of public trust, especially when transparency is not observed. According to Kennedy and Malatesta (2010), transparency is the openness of a firm when it comes to sharing information about its operation. The major focus of this paper is to explore the issue of transparency and public trust in firms.
Illustration
Maurice Williams is a human services administrator who has focused on providing transparency and accountability for his organization. This can be illustrated by the case whereby the administrator ensures that the funds collected by the firm are properly allocated to support the programs which guarantees that children are provided with effective care. Through this, public trust is obtained in that the donors and other stakeholders are confident that the firm puts its funds into effective use as required. Additionally, Williams also plays a significant role in upholding transparency by ensuring that auditing takes place after a period of 90 days rather than once a year (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Kennedy and Malatesta (2010) mention that auditing is a process which facilitates openness and transparency in a firm’s dealings which further fosters public trust.
Steps for Ensuring Transparency and Accountability
Different steps should be implemented by an administrator who plans to ensure transparency and accountability to the members of the public, especially in the case of a profit making organizations. The first step to ensure this functionality is closing the perception gap existing between the middle managers and the senior leadership. Isaacs et al. (2011) explain that closing this gap is effective in fostering transparency and accountability by guaranteeing that the two groups of leaders have an understanding of the real issues facing the business and the individual stakeholders as well as the importance of working collaboratively to promote transparency. The second step is to assist the people in understanding the true financial impact of the decisions made within the organization. For instance, the management should always be ready to explain to the stakeholders how it spends its finances and how it pays off for the business. Additionally, the members of the workforce also need to understand the real costs of their lapses in productivity and the potential positive impact of completing tasks in a new way. The third step is to have proper mechanisms in place which are essential in communicating critical factors to the stakeholders to promote transparency (Kennedy & Malatesta, 2010).
Personal Insight
In Williams’ case, it is evident that encouraging frequent auditing processes is effective in ensuring transparency and accountability which fosters public trust. In my recommended steps, I provide more value towards collaboration and communication between the firm and the relevant stakeholders. Evidently, through constant update, human resources department will be ensuring a disclosure of important information, particularly financial details, which is important in promoting the credibility of the firm and a growth in transparency regarding its operations.
Conclusion
Conclusively, transparency is an important concept which fosters public trust, especially in cases where finances are involved. Auditing and effective communication are some of the important considerations which are effective in upholding transparency of a profit making organization thus, boosting the firm’s credibility.
References
|
Isaacs, A. N., Pepper, H., Pyett, P., Gruis, H. A., Waples-Crowe, P., & Oakley-Browne, M. A. (2011). What you do is important but how you do it is more important. Qualitative Research Journal, 11(1), 51-60. Kennedy, S. S., & Malatesta, D. (2010). Safeguarding the public trust: Can administrative ethics be taught? Journal of Public Affairs Education, 16(2), 161-180. Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Symbolic framework: Transparency and the public trust [video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
|