Renqing (personal relationship) and resource allocation: Behaviour analysis of low income qualification assessment by village secretaries

Abstract

In a Chinese cultural context, Renqing (personal relationship), Guanxi (relationship) and Mianzi (face) are important concepts in understanding social relationships and people's behaviours. A study was conducted on village secretaries in Taiwan who have the power on the social assistance qualification assessment for low-income households. The study found that personal interest and Renqing (personal relationship) are the two major factors in considering resource allocation instead of distribution justice as advocated in the West. In fact, the fundamental principle is to avoid harm on oneself by others. Resource allocation is one of the key concerns of social work, so the findings have important implications for indigenous social work practice. Social work practitioners and other social work professionals have to understand the local cultural context and keep alert to possible unethical practices.

中國文化中的人情、關係和面子都是了解人際關係和行為的重要概念。本文作者對在台灣負責社會救助低收入戶資格審查的村里幹事進行研究，發現個人利益和人情都是決定資源分配的主要因素，而不是西方主張的分配性公正。事實上，基本原則就是要防止自己因為別人而受損。資源分配是社會工作的主要關注點，本研究的發現對社會工作本土化實踐有重要意涵。社會工作實踐者和其他社會工作專業人員需要了解在地文化環境和警惕可能的缺德行為。