Money Matters | Wanted: Chairmen to work wonders and get paid peanuts

Imagine you read a job advertisement along these lines:

Mainland China

• Basic salary is no more than two times the average salary in the company.
• (For your reference, the country's largest phone operator, China Mobile, is paying its employees 174,000 yuan [HK$220,350] a year on average.)
• Bonus will be paid if profit target met. It will be capped at two times the basic salary.
• Gratuity to be paid at the end of service. It will be capped at 30 per cent of the basic salary plus bonus tally.
• All the above can be altered or cancelled without prior notice.

• Meeting the profit target set by the board.
• Compliance with and implementation of Communist Party policies. This will supersede if it conflicts with the previous responsibility.
• Lead a team (the board of directors, general manager and deputy general manager) that is not accountable to you but to the party.
• Work with career managers hired at several times your pay.