Bilgi Cagi magazine looks over Tolerance and Innovation in its May edition. The magazine takes the issue of Tolerance with its role in promoting innovation in society. The authors deal with how the innovation culture arises in society and how the institutions benefit from supporting tolerance in the working environment and applying diversity management in human resources. The magazine presents the best examples of the innovation culture both from the globe and Turkey.
TAGES CEO Leyla Arsan takes attention to the 2008 Diversity Management Report which evaluates the equality and diversity in working environment. As the report shows, when the companies, applying equality and diversity policies, also apply diversity management in innovation processes, human resources, customer services, training and access to new markets are the factors that are affected most. Arsan, states that the properties which increase the innovation capacities of societies are individualism, enthusiasm to take risks and accept changes, long-term adaptation, low power/position/hierarchical view point, being open to new ideas, high travel, positive stance to science and education in society, innovators, attitude to religion. Taking account of these criteria to look upon Turkey, it seems that Turkish societal behaviours and beliefs are far away from the innovation culture. In order to promote the innovation culture in society Arsan, suggests giving importance to the social responsibility projects, employing people with differences, implementing Diversity Management in human resources department of the companies, building cooperation between local government, NGOs, civil society for developing human rights, democracy and governance projects.
Cemil Arıkan and Selçuk Karaata, from TUSIAD-Sabanci University Competitiveness Forum, believe that innovation is a participatory process and the base of open and participatory understanding lies in the democratic regime. In case of having a contemporary and democratic regime, it would be easier and faster to build an economy system based on innovation and knowledge.
Yılmaz Esmer, from Bahçeşehir University, states as Turkish Values Survey (part of World Values Surveys) shows the tolerance of Turkish society is very low and he believes that the source of this intolerance lies in the trust problem that Turkish people have in their social relations.
The magazine includes more articles of experts in the field. To read more on ‘Tolerance and Innovation’ you may look at Bilgi Cagi Magazine:
TAGES is one of the main contributors in Bilgi Cagi magazine which is published monthly with a vision to watch R&D and innovation processes of Turkey where the target mass is public organisations, NGOs, private sector, universities and all parties responsible for the R&D and innovation improvement of Turkey.