Transparency is a powerful concept when infused with Catholic morality

TRANSPARENCY, AS PRACTICED by most companies, is a paper tiger without teeth. It looks nice on a press release but has no real impact on company operations.

The Disney Company claims to champion transparency and describes itself as a “family entertainment enterprise” that is diversifying its workforce to better understand the people it serves around the world. That statement on the company’s website implies that the firm’s diversity efforts involve hiring family-oriented employees with different geographic backgrounds.

Upon deeper examination, one discovers that Disney is pursuing a dierent kind of diversity in its hiring processes, one involving sexual orientation. Recently, when the company opposed legislation limiting the teaching of sexual orientation in Florida schools, many Floridians realized Disney was working to change the traditional definition of “family.” Some consumers began boycotting Disney movies and theme parks, and the Florida state legislature voted to cancel Disney’s favored tax status. Transparency is supposed to minimize these kinds of problems.

Disney’s approach to transparency is based upon information sharing. But to the Catholic mind, transparency means applying Christian morality to build lasting beneficial relationships. In that regard, transparency is a moral concept that goes hand in hand with a right intention and a search for positive moral outcomes. If the objective is to normalize immoral behavior, then the process to get there can never be considered transparent.

Furthermore, transparency requires that asymmetrical information be eliminated. In other words, it is wrong if one party withholds or camouflages important information, thereby causing the other party to expect something dierent than what the first party intends. A company can’t be transparent while hiding an anti-family agenda behind a “family entertainment” banner.

If transparency is just information sharing, then the company writes promotional copy while shareholders, employees, and customers get confused. However, when transparency is infused with Catholic morality, it becomes a useful quality of human collaboration. The knowledge, understanding, and intentions of the parties are shared with truth and clarity. This results in mutual trust, better decision making, and good business. Without that trust, business relationships fail.

Transparency is useless unless infused with the “teeth” of Catholic morality.

So how do we ensure our firm is transparent? First, make sure that the right people in your organization are charged with making the key decisions affecting products, services, and customers. Make sure these roles are specified in operating procedures. Don’t follow Disney’s lead by allowing the wrong people to engage in political speech on behalf of the company.

Second, make sure your decision makers are grounded in Catholic morality. Make sure they apply moral rules as they strive for truth and clarity. Don’t permit your firm to pursue immorality or utilize immoral actions with the false hope of achieving moral objectives. Doing something intrinsically wrong can never be justified, even if the desired end is good.

Third, identify what information should routinely be made available to employees, shareholders, and customers, and communicate it in an understandable manner. Disney established its current diversity program in 2020 and created a “Diversity Dashboard” so that interested parties could see the results. A dashboard may be a good idea, but until recently many stakeholders seemed unaware of the company’s direction. Transparency requires a more effective communications effort.

Fourth, establish disclosure boundaries that protect confidential data from getting into the wrong hands. All information disclosures must be governed by truth, justice, and prudence, so some information must remain confidential.

Real transparency and trust are strongly linked. When done right, transparency helps keep you and your stakeholders on the same page, increasing mutual trust. Your employees will understand their role more completely and be more willing to help the business grow, while your customers will become more brand loyal. The result is your business will be more successful, and you’ll sleep better at night.

Brian Engelland is a professor emeritus at two institutes, The Catholic University of America and Mississippi State University. His latest book is "Force for Good: The Catholic Guide to Business Integrity", published by Sophia Institute Press.