Hong Kong and China: The Cash Mentality Revisited

The research for this article surveyed 583 professional employees in Hong Kong and 121 managers of overseas companies operating in People’s Republic of China and identified the five most popular compensation components to attract and motivate employees. People in Hong Kong identified base salary, merit pay, year-end bonus, annual leave, mortgage loans and profit sharing as the most important components for attracting and motivating employees. Employees in People’s Republic of China cited base salary, year-end bonus, merit pay, housing provisions, annual leave and individual bonus as the most important components to attract and motivate employees. Because of a number of cultural and socioeconomic factors, the cash mentality is still a very important factor in attracting and motivating employees in Hong Kong and People’s Republic of China.