Professor, Dr. Sc. Karabayeva A.G.

Professor, Dr. Sc.  Ismagambetova Z.N.

PhD student Akbergen A.I.

al-Faraby Kazakh National University

Republic of Kazakhstan

 

Socio-philosophical analysis of innovations

 

       Western scientists note innovation’s technical characteristics, its close connection with the nature of economic and business activity considering the place and the role of innovation. The important point is the position of scientists to determine innovation only as scientific and technological development. With the growth of the elements of a market economy there is acute need for new technologies and new material and economic instruments for increasing the efficiency of human activity. Subsequently, innovation is seen as an economic category so far as it’s defined as implementation of the invention and, therefore, seen as a structural element of the socio-economic system, which will be identified as an innovative economy, innovative activity and innovative technical sciences. Humanitarian and socio-cognitive-behavioral sciences were pushed on the marginalia of science, their role downplayed in the creation of an innovative economy by giving priority to economy and technical sciences in promoting a new innovative activity.

       In the course of the scientific analysis of the current conceptual approaches to the study of the problem of innovation, it has been revealed that innovation is studied mainly in terms of the economic, commercial approach. In our view, there is a deep connection between the market economy of the earliest industrial society and innovations with their scientific and technological infrastructures. In this regard, considering the cause of the relevance of this approach, which was formed in the earliest stages of research of innovations in modern science, it should be noted that to date the advantage is given to those countries that provide a favorable environment for innovation activity and effective communication of business and technical science. In forming the innovation activity and manufacture of innovative products in order to modernize the economy and the social system, as well as for the overall improvement of competitiveness a special meaning is acquired not only by development of innovative strategy and policy, but also by use of new technologies and technical means and resources. Subsequently, attention is drawn to the need to use new techniques and principles of management, as well as the ability to effectively use the full scope of innovative and management tools.    

       Innovative economy – it is not just a market economy where there is innovations, but there the priority of structural innovation is ensured. Accordingly, the priority goes to the economic growth mostly not on the basis of the factors of production, investment but factors and conditions of innovative activity, areas of basic high-tech industries, which are the main engine of economic and social development. The industrial structure and investments are only means for innovative activity. It is well known that a powerful impetus in developed countries is given to the strategy economic use of science for the benefit of the national economy. Clear strategy of direct interpenetration of technical science and economy is being implemented. Western countries are becoming leaders in the promotion of new economy and innovative technologies. These countries have carried out and continue building innovative economy, for which the decisive factor was not the priority of the natural resources and raw materials but the knowledge, intelligence, administrative and organizational factors. Western scientists have found that only innovative economy shows steady growth and development today. In this type of economy there is a constant search in the area of organization, management leading to a systematic institutional and structural changes and transformations. The "system" of the sciences, including philosophy, cultural studies, sociology, psychology and others can become the theoretical and methodological basis of studies of innovations to date.

       In the course of studying the problem, it was found that one of the directions of research is the definition of innovation in terms of novation in the production of qualitatively new products and services. Another direction in the study of this problem is to consider innovation in terms of organization of new forms of management and leadership in the service sector, manufacturing. In this case, the innovation (technical, technological, organizational, economic and social) is considered as a "purposeful change", deliberately introduced into the process of reproduction to better existing or form new social needs.

        Based on an analysis of the main approaches which have developed on the issue of the nature and role of innovation in society, attention is given to the three main areas of research, to the fact that in each its own theoretical and methodological paradigm dominates.

       The role of the company as the initiator and creator of innovation. The concept of decision-making, where the analysis and the selection of alternatives is changed by consistent stages of the implementation of the decision, acts as a research paradigm.

       The role of marketing, or the behavior of firm on the market, whose task is to identify risk factors, methods of forecasting the success of innovation, economic indicators of performance of individual stages of innovation and innovation in general. In this direction, the main role is played by the theory of open systems in conjunction with the game approach, where the company interacts with the market as with its environment and where the final stages of the innovation process are the result of actions of plural subjects, each of which comes with their interests, taking into account the probabilistic response action of partners.

        Identifying the role of government policy in relation to innovation activity of firms, which assists in enhancing their competitiveness on the international market. The leading theory is a paradigm of theory of management.

        These main directions of research of this problem are called "innovations". There are four stages in its history. The first stage involves the study of factors that help or hinder the success of innovations; there is accumulated the great wealth of empirical data, systematized in a large number of irreducible to each other classifications. At the second stage the main subject of study was the innovation process, including spontaneous diffusion and focused transfer of innovations. At the third stage researchers' attention was focused on the analysis of various types of innovative situations, developing methods for possible earlier assessment of the risk, the formation of recommendations to government agencies regarding their policy in the realm of innovations. At the fourth stage continuing today the key element of the study are innovation networks, the most sensitive to rapid dynamics of the market, i.e. marketing-oriented, catching potential trends of demand.

       Thus, starting from the level of individual production companies (firms), innovative practices and research answering their needs in the West spread to the level of national institutions (the state). As a result in countries with a market economy in the second half of the XX century technical, organizational and other innovations that provide quick satisfaction and at the same time the development of needs of all categories of the population have received mass distribution.

       By analyzing the different approaches in the study of the phenomenon of innovation, the researchers consider it’s necessary to distinguish the following main areas of research (analysis, study):

• socio-philosophical, theoretical and methodological;

• cultural-historical;

• socio-psychological.

      These trends in research of innovation are not particularly developed in the scientific literature. To justify the allocation of these areas the following arguments are considered:

      Socio-philosophical and theoretical-methodological direction in the study of innovation. Innovation is the most important "structural" element of social- economic system as a kind of integrity. In the developed and modernizing society innovations are considered as national priority, public policy. The leading direction of development for all countries in the XXI century is the development of a smooth transition to the personal-centered paradigm (or model) of the socio-economic development. Accordingly, the national priorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan are focused on maintaining and improving the quality characteristics of the population – its professionalism, health, culture, morality, etc. Allocated paradigm is responsible for the coverage of synergistic relationships of economic reproduction with other important components such as the – spiritual, cultural, moral, civic components of the process and the results of social development. Active communion of human to innovative processes that is happening in society, support and introduction to the possible types of innovations are implemented due to the innovative culture of the society, exerting the influence also on its spiritual development. Attention is given to the growing role and social importance of the state in its new role – a tool for ensuring innovation reproduction in the economy and growth of quality of life. Therefore, the study of the social ways and mechanisms of formation of the acceptance of innovation strategy, the formation of social culture of regard to the innovation is extremely important task. Identification of the state's role in the dissemination and formation of innovations in Kazakhstan is one of the directions of scientific work of performers of the project.

       Cultural and culture-anthropological direction is another direction of research of performers of the project. Innovations are an important index of transformations, changes in culture. One of the important factors of changes taking place in the culture is innovation, which represented innovations in the cultural mechanisms of regulation, organization, organizing cultural behavior and cultural activity in the community. Consideration of innovation as a cultural phenomenon, as changes and transformations in the cultural activity of man allows to reveal the cultural mechanisms aimed at changing the mentality, ethnic picture of the world, the place and the position of man in the system of cultural behavior, qualitative changes in values, behavior, communication, influencing the transformation of the society, in the development of civilization in its entirety, as well as in the economy sphere. Cultural innovations become a powerful mechanism that influences the change in the model of a success of person, both in the personal and social dimension.

       Great attention is paid to the need to create an innovation culture. It is the foundation of innovation development of Kazakhstan's society. An innovative culture is a "knowledge, skills and experience of focused training, complex implementation and comprehensive development of innovations in various fields of human activity at maintaining in the innovation system dynamic unity of old, modern and new, in other words, it is a free creation of a new with the compliance to principle of continuity"" [1]. In this regard, one of the important components in the formation of innovation culture is the pursuit of new as evaluative orientation of highly qualified specialists and workers.

       The emergence of "an innovative economy - economy of society based on a positive perception of the new ideas, new machines, systems and technologies, the readiness of their implementation in the various spheres of human activity due to the emergence of a qualitatively new innovative type of development (RTD) based on the "economy knowledge" and high technologies is determined by special internal dynamism, enhanced ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions" [2]. The amount of information, which is owned by our civilization, doubles every five years. Therefore, in addition to the development of knowledge, no less important is the development of techniques that can be used to receive, process and use new information. The knowledge is developed in relation to the skills that students master in the framework of innovative educational programs. In accordance with the Law "On innovation activity" (2002), the main purpose of the Strategy of industrial-innovative development of Kazakhstan is to achieve sustainable development through economic diversification, promoting withdrawal from raw orientation, preparing the conditions for the transition in the long-term perspective to service and technological economy. Integration into the world’s scientific and technical and innovative processes involves stimulation of high-tech export-oriented industries; the transition to international quality standards; creating business climate; diversification of export potential of the country in favor of goods and services with high added value; the implementation of "breakthrough" projects in non-primary sectors of international importance, the development of industries producing goods and services that can be competitive in certain niches on the world market.

       Innovation is special socio-cultural phenomenon, a complex systematic formation. Innovation is a set of tools and mechanisms of innovative activity and mechanisms of transformation of society’s life, its individual sectors, clusters, structures, characteristics, etc. To date bettering of "university complex" and its scientific potential to produce innovative products and the development of the forms and content of innovative activity becomes the most important task of improving the life of society.

       Innovative product, activity, process, etc can be evaluated in terms of system properties and characteristics, practical component, features and patterns of ongoing innovation processes, clarifying the structure of innovative relations, the nature of the innovative products, characteristics of individual and corporate behavior.

       Development of innovations becomes priority of any developed country, carried out (implemented) at the expense of scientific and technological development and mechanisms of intellectualization of all segments of "social activity". Development of strategies of innovative policy, technological changes and advances in society is directly linked to the development of the human factor, human capital, development (improvement) of cultural resources, global positioning, and solution to the problems of competitive efficiency and effectiveness of society and its members.

       Innovative science becomes absolute (in importance and priority) social institute in conditions of active modernization, transformation and the transformation of society’s life. Economy, today, is a complex of intellectual (foreground) management of information. In this regard functions of management, scientific activity, strategic decisions, forecasting, management "on the ground" and etc change equally. Unwinding full potential of society is the task of any system of governance, any type of modernizing organization. Production and fostering of innovation is the main strategic task of civilization of the XX - XXI centuries.

Literature

1. Filosofija tvorchestva /Pod obshhejj red. A.N. Loshilina, N.P. Francuzovojj. – M: Filosofskoe obshestvo, 2002

2. Innovacionnaja modernizacija Rossii. Politologicheskie ocherki. – M.: Institut sociologii RAN, 2011