ASPECTS OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT APPLIED IN ...

Annals of the University “Constantin Brâncuşi”of Tg-Jiu, No. 1/2008, Volume 2,
ISSN: 1842-4856
Source: Florida, Tinagli : Europe In The Creative Age, 2004
There are two types of tolerance one should take into consideration. There is a type that regards for
instance the sexual orientation or discrimination, and there is another type of tolerance regarding
foreign-born. Even though specialists take these two aspects together, I think that from a certain
moment they should also be treated separately. While tolerance regarding immigrants is directly
oriented towards foreigners, that connected to bohemians and gays can take into consideration both
national and non-national inhabitants. There is a difference between the motivation and cultivation
policies of local creative capacities and the attraction policies oriented towards non-national
creative capacities. It is not to think that the immigrants, gays or bohemians cause economic
growth, but it is their presence that proves that a certain culture is open and conductive to creativity.
It is in those places where their presence has more weight, that one can find tolerance and openmindedness.
The indicators regarding tolerance should actually point out the existence of “creative
ecosystems”- habitats open to new people and ideas, where people can easily network and connect,
and where bright ideas are not stifled but are turned into projects, companies and growth. [4]
AnnaLee Saxenian [7] found in her research that about one third of the high-tech businesses created
in Silicon Valley during the 1990s were founded by immigrants. This proves that there was a
certain openness towards foreign-born people at that time in that area and it pushes people to
believe that the United States is the most open and tolerant nation in the world. A study conducted
by Ronald Inglehart [8] in more nations over several decades and found a strong connection
between the economic growth and political democracy and tolerance. General openness to gays,
immigrants and women was correlated to economic growth. As Inglehart and Baker note in 2000
[9], the United States used to be presented as a state that holds not only for a model for openness
and tolerance, but also for a base case towards which other nations should converge. However,
Florida and Tinagli [4] show that the general image people had about the United States is not so real
actually. European nations score higher than the US on the Euro-Tolerance Index. Even though it
has the higher level of immigrants among all countries, the American nation is not a prototype for
cultural modernization, having a much more traditional value system than other countries.
At the top of the list on Euro-Tolerance Index, Sweden, Denmark and Netherlands are to be found,
closely followed by Germany and Finland. These countries have a competitive advantage in terms
of tolerance. However, most of these countries have quite restrictive immigration policies that do
not encourage the entrance of creative force. It is important therefore that tolerance should be
combined with official policies, in order to create a stronger competitive advantage. On the other
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