The Vice General Manager of Istanbul Gold Refinery, Özgür Anık made some statements expressing he shared the problem of cultural degeneration holded by the efforts of Grand Bazaar,we made as Habergold.com;
Moral Values Sustain Traders
The matter of cultural degeneration is certainly existing. I connect the reason for this to losing the understanding of ahi community which being carried on even before the foundation of Grand Bazaar. Today, some traders have the values of ahi moral however it's not named so; and gather the traders together. Surely, we still have traders with this understanding. But the values I mentioned begin to be lost.
The Bad Side of Instutionalization
Before anything else, the relationship of master and apprentice has been lost. Beside good sides, this is one of the bad sides coming with instutionalization and brandization. Monoproduct- focused sale is carried out with the outcomes of factorization, usage of band production and barcode system. The staff selling the product knows neither the technical specification nor the reason for the different costs. Unfortunately, qualified personnel in this area, is not trained. One of the biggest reasons for losing the system of apprenticeship is today's education system. With the compulsory education, the youngs graduate at late ages and cannot exert effort required for apprenticeship. So, old moral and culture can't be planted in the workers.