I worked at a smaller company (100 people in the local office) where the executives gave out a one-time $3,000 bonus per person (~ $300,000 total I figure) that came out of the bonuses they got from head office. They took a portion of their bonus and gave it to us. Not sure how much they got above that, but $300,000 is not chump change.
Same concept as the Lenovo situation. I'm a cynic about many things, but I do believe that they could have kept the money if they wanted but decided to split it among the team. Earned my respect.
I think this kind of thing builds internal loyalty way more than the external PR aspects.
I agree it's probably for internal loyalty, but I read the question as wondering whether it's this particular manner (give it to the CEO, who then chooses out of his munificence to donate it to the workers) that has extra effect over just changing the compensation structure.
After all, if the CEO really thinks, as he says, that this is just giving the workers the share of the company's success they deserve, he is uniquely well situated to propose a change to the bonus structure so that, in the future, that would actually be how bonuses are distributed. But it might be that a $300/yr bonus delivered the normal way (via HR, according to an official bonus policy) wouldn't have the same PR effect as a bonus positioned as a personal donation from the CEO, even if it's the same amount of cash.
Sometimes these things are actually accounting issues. Employee bonuses are operating costs. But executive bonuses are a more complex instrument, and are governed by different sets of accounting and fiduciary regulations.
This is why, for instance, a firm may decide not to pay out bonuses to employees during a bad year -- but may still reward its top executives with hefty bonuses. The firm may actually be obligated to pay out the bonuses to its executives by way of their contracts, or in some cases, as scheduled advances on their insurance policies. (This latter practice is becoming increasingly common as a tax-deferral strategy).
If it is an obligation then it is not a bonus. It may be a tax avoidance scheme. Executive pay is in most cases not performance related and is a fairly corrupt scheme alas. Rewards for failure are far too common.
Same concept as the Lenovo situation. I'm a cynic about many things, but I do believe that they could have kept the money if they wanted but decided to split it among the team. Earned my respect.
I think this kind of thing builds internal loyalty way more than the external PR aspects.