Principals of Management, Chapter Three, Redux

Please make sure you read the first Chapter Three post before you read this one.

Some of my classmates had some replies to my 'discussion' (and these are cut and pastes so I personally would have hit spell check before hitting the post button):

Subject: Discussion 1
Author: ***** Simpson
I would have to agree with Elizabeth ***** when she said "It’s too bad ‘greed’ isn’t an organizational environment as it is THE element existing outside the organization’s boundaries that have the potential to affect the majority of organizations." It efffects us every day. The Economy hurts many people and small companies fill it to but sum of the lager companys are not effected by the economy (wal-mart) Some companys are doin better becuse of the economy. Because there dealing with supply and demand. Thats were greed comes in hand.

Subject: Re:Discussion 1
Author: ***** Sutton
I also agree with what Elizabeth is saying. I also belive as consumers we have some power if everyone would use other smaller stores these big stores would have to make some adjustments. I am basically saying stomp out greed by not feading it.

Subject: Re:Discussion 1
Author: ***** Padgett
Elizabeth,
Although I agree with you, it is definitely a dog-eat-dog world, on the other hand isn't that why someone starts a business.....to make PROFIT. I wouldn't exactly call it greed. Greed is defined as a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed. Just as the company you worked for was in business to make money, so is the company that took their business. Unfortunately someone else was bigger, though not necessarily better. These larger companies just have the ability to play the upperhand and they use it to their advantage...that's how they continue to climb to the top. That is what business is all about. I did like the points that you made and your post was very informative, all in all I think you did a great job.

~~end comments~~

Look - I have some 'new fans' (but y'all will always be the only ones I care about). I'm finding fun with this because I'm enjoying the topic and able to voice my opinion on something I somewhat care about and (hopefully) get a good grade on(it's not graded yet though - hopefully I wasn't too jumping too much on my Tide box and/or way off the Richter scale; I'm also still waiting for my LoTR grade. That paper was due last Saturday. How long must I wait? But I am acing Personal Finance with a vengence.).

Like I said in the first Chapter Three post : (e) All of this work for a 10 point assignment. I need to create comments to at least 2 more of my classmates' posts between now and Saturday at 11pm. Comments only this time. I am no way in hell writing another short essay. I think I may take Friday off to cook. My brain hurts.

I did take Friday off and cooked me some homemade Cheesy Chunky Lasagna, a recipe I invented myself. Very very good. Even though I was supposed to do two more posts for that management thing I thought about saying fuck it because A) Everyone else wrote like a sentence or two - some wrote very brief paragraphs - some looked like a long post because they typed out the whole question at the top, while I on the other hand wrote was seemed to be a short novella (and I'm like Cher dammit! I deserve that 'A'); and B) it's only worth 10 points - exams are worth 200. So what if I don't get the whole whopping 10 points on this?

But you know me. I go big or go home. I haven't been in the mood for blogging but I was in the mood for writing. Then came the 'retort' from ***** Padgett. I felt like I needed to be vindicated. So here we go:


*****,
How you defined greed ‘as the selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money)’ defines my case exactly.

We didn’t lose the account due to a poor marketing campaign, poor customer service or outrageous prices. Our employees played their roles exquisitely, everyone functioning and living in the environment of the customer. The sole reason we lost the account was greed. The homebuilder formed a company*, or ABA in violation of RESPA (the Real Estate Services Protection Act, a consumer protection statue first passed in 1974 in which the purpose is to help consumers become better shoppers for settlement services and to eliminate kickbacks and referral fees that unnecessarily increase the costs of certain settlement services), so the builder could make an additional profit for a service they did not perform. Their ABA does not market to any potential outside sources of business and does not perform all ‘core title services,’ both of which are flagrant violations of RESPA. Greed.

Our account situation also contained the legal-politic dimension on the side of the homebuilder. The builder’s middle managers who dealt our staff on a daily basis (the local VP of Finance, VP of Sales, VP of Land, VP of Construction and Division President) did not want to cease operations between our two businesses as our company was able to aid and improve their over all customer service ratings by our willingness to accommodate their buyers and closings, day or night, and pull so called ‘miracles’ out of our air conditioned offices. (This is probably the biggest difference between ABAs and individually owned and operated companies; ABAs are guaranteed incoming business from their ‘source’ while individually owned organizations must create an environment dedicated their customers as an environment in which to compete scarcely exists.) In the unfortunate end, the builder’s corporate politics possessed by the top managers prevailed and disservices were and still are handed out like candy at Halloween.

In most real estate transactions, few consumers are shop around for the best price, but are instead steered to particular companies by real estate agents, builders and lenders. In all real estate transactions, your agents, brokers and lenders have fiduciary responsibility to you, the consumer. However, I’ve watched that fiduciary responsibility shift from the consumer to the agent or the agent’s employer (one of whom is usually affiliated with a settlement service provider of some sort) in order to receive some type of compensation for themselves. The latest example I’ve seen locally is through a homebuilder – the builder require a lower down payment from a potential buyer, allow a buyer receive upgrades at little to no cost, pay all allowable closing costs (and as many non-allowable closing costs as possible) but ONLY if the purchaser uses their ‘preferred’ lender, a lender in which the builder most always has a financial relationship with. Greed.

Again, this happens everywhere in the real estate industry. It is common practice. NOTE TO HOMEOWNERS: Make sure you read the fine print and shop around.

Sadly, a group of individually owned and operated title companies have not banded together to fight this issue head on. The only thing these organizations can do is travel to Tallahassee to try to speak with Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation. Unfortunately (but fortunately) the OIR has a full plate dealing with home, car and health insurance as well as workers compensation. I do know there have been some inquiries by the OIR, the last being October 2007. This only led to setting up another inquiry date (I believe this date is still to be determined). It does not appear that HUD (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) has made any changes to its regulations regarding ABAs since June 1996, years before the magnitude of the ABA scene was created.

Very little to no significant change has been made in over 10 years, which makes the future of the independently owned and operated title company seem rather bleak. I do however, believe these companies will persevere by continuing to make the customer their number one priority, all while patiently waiting for the bureaucracy red tape to be cut.

*a good definition of newly formed company entity can be found under ‘sham controlled business arrangements’ as defined in RESPA 34 CR Part 3500 http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/res/res0607c.cfm


~~end paper~~


I was looking at some comments on some of the other peep's "discussions" and they were like I agree with you! Great job! Valid Points! I'm going to close my eyes, point to the computer and just pick one and say Very well written. No more massive works for me right now. I have a long ass paper due next week and my two ABA bashings have taken a toll on me.