Racism Through Stereotypes in Book Four: Ichi-no-Tani 2017

Clearly, I’ve mentioned how cheap my bosses are. And… my family that once lived in Hong Kong were quick to say “The Chinese are very cheap.” And yes… according to “Professional Market Value Assessment” I am making less than 50% of what I am worth. And yes there are lots of ways that this firm supports the Chinese are cheap mentality. But that is just one firm. That is just 3 people. That can’t be allowed to represent a culture.

Then we had an interesting case cross our door. Let’s create a hypothetical for this so as to protect individuals.
Jerome, Tyrell, and Derick decide to start a Gumbo & Chili restaurant in Iowa. It goes very well for them but they miss spending time with their families, so they consider selling. Jerome owns 65% of the company, Tyrell owns 25% of the company, and Derick owns 10 % of the company. Derick contracts a Realtor with an Exclusive Listing License to sell the business. Despite being minority shareholder, he is still considered an owner. The Realtor agrees; provided the business sign the Exclusivity portion of the contract prohibiting the business from using competing Realtors. Jerome finds out that Derick hired a Realtor and starts asking the Realtor how the hunt for buyers is going. After a few months with unsatisfactory results; Jerome tells the Realtor that they no longer wish to sell the business. A few weeks later, Jerome sells the business. Realtor claims that Jerome’s cancellation was (1) against contract because (2) it was fraudulent. The cancellation, Realtor explains, was an attempt to sell the business without paying the commission of the Realtor who was attempting to get interested buyers. Frankly, Realtor argues, there is no way Jerome can prove the buyer wasn’t influenced by the Realtor’s campaign.

Now… it isn’t exactly cut and dried, easy peasy. There are nuances and tricks and difficulties. The issue here is (1) The Business signed a contract; (2) The majority owner allowed the contract to continue, thus adopting the contract by inaction; (3) The Business attempted to break contract without going through the proper route to do so; (4) As soon as they thought they were free of Contract, they sold the business.

Judge agreed that the actions were too obvious to not be an attempt to defraud the Realtor.

The Chinese staff here was outraged. Apparently, the Realtor working his butt off for 3 months wasn’t good enough because “he wasn’t the one that sold the business.” And, as he wasn’t the one that sold the business, “he was owed zero money.”

Thus we realize the Cultural Confusion of “Service Contract” versus “Exchange of Goods.” You aren’t paying the Realtor a commission based on him being the person that directly brought you the buyer. You are paying the Realtor a commission based on him being the person that is selling your business/house. Or maybe I’m completely wrong? Seriously… people who have used Realtors to sell homes and businesses and the like. Was there ever a point where you knew you had a buyer and could screw the Realtor out of their commission? Because… the Chinese I work with think “that isn’t wrong; just good business.”

I have found people that are more Ferengi than I.