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"Transparency" is murky

"Transparency" is one of the vogue words in government that I hate, along with "embed" and "empower". Not to mention "environmental scan".

Yesterday the word came up on a listserve and was explained as "It has to do with making processes clear -- how decisions get made, for example, or how money gets spent."

I could not find a dictionary offering anything about process, although I know the word is used that way now.

Wallstreet Words offers this:

transparency

The full, accurate, and timely disclosure of information.

This morning I had a look at someone's psychological assessment. Features of "transparency" were identified as:
+ keeps promises
+ brings up ethical concerns
+ acknowledges mistakes
+ acts on own values even at personal cost

I would say the meaning is not widely known, if not actually murky.

Full post as published by Building Rapport on June 13, 2008 (boomark / email).