Social Relationship Networks And Occupational Status Attainment

Job mobility is the important characterristic of the market economy. In modern social life ,the occupational status has already been become one of the focuses that people have paid close attention to. It is the assurance of a certain living standard and social status to have a good job. There are three kinds of mechanisms in Chinese social structure at the present stage to adjust the people,s occupational status attainment: the mechanism of planning distribute, market mechanism and social relationship networks mechanism. What this article probed into mainly is mechanism of social relationship networks. The so-called social relationship, mainly means "the unique connection between a group of specific individuals", this kind of connection or relation has formed "networks" when being combined. As a kind of social resource, the social relationship networks with the aid of the social relationship mechanism of the special doctrine, can act on the status distribution and status attainment among different groups or members. Someone thinks, this kind of relation not only generally exists in the modern society, but also especially acts on the society of east Asia and Confucianists cultural circle. At present, Chinese society is in the period of transition of a social structure, from planned economy to market economy, from the unitarity society of homogeneity to the heterogeneous diversified society. The two-way choice of job hunting under market economy has already replaced of the job assignment by the country under the planning system. But the whole society become unusual pluralism with the coexist of market and plan, out of step of reform of social political system and economic system, the accumulation of Chinese traditional culture and the rush of western new trend of thought. As resources of status attainment, the social relationship networks especially seem indispenable to status attainment of social members, and social relationship networks and the course of job hunting demonstrate the unusually complicated conditon. It is undoubtedly to have great realistic meaning and theory meaning to regard the "social relationship networks and occupational status attainment" as this article,s theme.This article is set up on the basis of eight cases, adopting the research methods of qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis, theoretical research and real example analysis. Through the cases study of eight different professional groups, this article has analysed the function that the social relationship networks to the status attainment of different professional groups, the content of the reproduction of the Guanxi capital, and the general means of social members using the Guanxi capital to reproduce. Through the researching and analysing to the cases, this article thinks, as resources of status the social relationship networks play an important role in the social members, status attainment. When the interpersonal intimate social relationship is regarded the resource of status attainment and used by social members, this kind of social relationship has already been changed into a kind of social relationship capital, abbreviated as "Guanxi capital". It can be increased new value constantly through the reproducing in the process of social members, status attainment, and make the capital hyperplasia of the social relationship then. Just as the capitalist regards currency as media to carry on the reproduction of the capital, the person who seeks interests of position promotes the reproduction of the "Guanxi" capital, generally in giving presents, meeting, and doing a favour ect.In present, the social relationship networks have become another mechanism system of status attainment and play an important role. There are deeply historical and realistic reasons about it. First of all, Chinese peculiar culture tradition has offered the deeply cultural foundation of history for operation of the social relationship networks. Secondly, "the system vacuum" as a result of incomplete official constitutions offers great vivos...