is it all that different in the USA? It's certainly the stereotype we see in movies for wall street. Not having worked there I have no first hand experience. When I ask friends that have they tell me "oh the stories I could tell" but they don't actually tell.
Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)
31–40 of 258 posts
Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Heck in the US 20 years ago, a coworker of mine was assigned to a job where his first account was some old school east coast bank. One night dude calls "OMG man we are at dinner and the sales guy didn't show up so it's just me and them and they want to hit the strip clubs a couple blocks away after this." I had no good advice as I was a n00b too so I told him to call his boss. He was told "keep them happy" so he spen…
You do know that this is normal don't you? Very tame by any stretch of the imagination.
[deleted]
Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)
#33I'm a foreign CTO working in Bangkok and being fully fluent in Thai showed me that it's exactly the same practice in SEA regions: Got to close a deal with a government official? They'll head to the "bathtub massage" area Huai Kwang. Need to bond with a local Business man? Deal closes there as well. Bond with male work mates? On to the bathtub place! Everyone knows it, there's jokes about it and this particular busine…
> I turned down several invites to such activities and got the usual gay jokes behind my back. I'm surprised they didn't just invite you to a place that caters for both.
I think you missed the point; he didn't turn down the invites because he's gay, they called him gay because he turned down the invites...
Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not OP, but how about I live where I want, and do what I think is right? The good people in these countries are moving away from this stuff for a reason. If your hosts were abusing kids, would you join in?
Oh the `good` people of these `countries`. By what yard stick do you measure `good`. These `good` people considering it normal. I think you need to stop bringing your naive viewpoint of the West to Asia.
I know a lot of Thai people and the men might be fine with this but none of their wives or girlfriends are. You don't have to accept something that you think is immoral just because it's in someone else's culture
Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh the `good` people of these `countries`. By what yard stick do you measure `good`. These `good` people considering it normal. I think you need to stop bringing your naive viewpoint of the West to Asia.
I know a lot of Thai people and the men might be fine with this but none of their wives or girlfriends are. You don't have to accept something that you think is immoral just because it's in someone else's culture
The point I was making is you're making a moral judgement based on your upbringing to a different culture that has different cultural normal around sex and Business. In essence you're putting your moral judgement above the men you're associating with.
Do you really believe their wives and girlfriends are princesses who are innocent little delicate snowflakes that need your manly protection? You're getting played my friend with the oldest trick in the book.
Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)
#36I'm a foreign CTO working in Bangkok and being fully fluent in Thai showed me that it's exactly the same practice in SEA regions: Got to close a deal with a government official? They'll head to the "bathtub massage" area Huai Kwang. Need to bond with a local Business man? Deal closes there as well. Bond with male work mates? On to the bathtub place! Everyone knows it, there's jokes about it and this particular busine…
Heck in the US 20 years ago, a coworker of mine was assigned to a job where his first account was some old school east coast bank. One night dude calls "OMG man we are at dinner and the sales guy didn't show up so it's just me and them and they want to hit the strip clubs a couple blocks away after this." I had no good advice as I was a n00b too so I told him to call his boss. He was told "keep them happy" so he spen…
I think this is not uncommon, even nowadays. Noone likes to admit it because being politically correct and stuff. Even at company parties at big corporations, some Sales and Marketing folks tend go a bit overboard - and employees hooking up with each isn't unusual during such festivities either.
Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Heck in the US 20 years ago, a coworker of mine was assigned to a job where his first account was some old school east coast bank. One night dude calls "OMG man we are at dinner and the sales guy didn't show up so it's just me and them and they want to hit the strip clubs a couple blocks away after this." I had no good advice as I was a n00b too so I told him to call his boss. He was told "keep them happy" so he spen…
You do know that this is normal don't you? Very tame by any stretch of the imagination.
Extremely normal for sales (in my experience)
Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)
#38I see this as an East Asian phenomenon, I believe Koreans and Japanese do this to a certain degree as well as certain other East Asian groups. I've heard Russians do bathhouse deals as well although I could be wrong and there is also the finance sector's strip club visits with their clientele that I've heard of ( https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-12/it-s-clos... ). It seems so weird to see people have t…
Russians do bathhouse/sauna deals without sex (most of the time). In Russian culture, bathhouses/saunas are a very traditional safe place for a group of same-sex friends to socialize and get drunk together. And naturally a lot of unofficial political and business discussion happens in saunas too.
Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)
#39A few female entrepreneurs, however, explicitly reject the values pushed by businessmen. “One of my husband’s business friends got married just two years ago,” explained Li, in her early 40s, who co-owns a steel business with her husband, “We went to his wedding. But when we hosted an event last year, he came with a young girl who was obviously his mistress. I told my husband that if he cheats on his wife only after a year, he will cheat us. He said no way, he’s a good guy, we can trust him!” She looked a little smug. “Now this man owes us a lot of money that he won’t pay.”
As women get more powerful in society, they'll stand up a bit more for themselves and their gender. I recall reading an article that I can't find about women working in South Korea. It's difficult for them to get promoted to senior positions because they're often not interested in bringing their customers or business partners to strip clubs and the like, as it makes for an uncomfortable work experience. But the same article quotes men who say they're more comfortable working with people with whom they share dark secrets and experiences.
You can totally see that reason not flying over time if women become more powerful, similar to the woman surnamed Li. After some time, Li probably won't only speak up, she'll probably have more influence over decisions too.
Re: Booze, Sex, and the Dark Art of Dealmaking in China (2015)
#40AFAIK, many foreigners [read: other Asians as well as a sprinkling of non-Asians] (as well nationals from outside a city but who do business in said city) who are married have either "second wives[1]" in these alternate city offices or they have their marriages die in said places. It has some intriguing aspects, such as the children of the "first wife" are often seen as more legitimate. Also often the wives tolerate…
Yes, the first family has more status and usually will be the ones that get the bulk of the inherited wealth.
It seems to be sort of expected that once you reach a certain level in your business life, you will get a mistress.
This is so prevalent in the Philippines that the family law concerning whether or not you can use the last name of your father is explicitly spelled out.