Huang Sibo and Lin Wan quickly followed closely behind him. They, too, gestured at their cell phones before they left.
All the heads returned to their own workspaces.
On the way, Lu Mingliang added all the heads of Tengda Corporation into a chat named ‘Tengda Higher Management’s Internal Chat’. Of course, he did not add Boss Pei into the group. Strictly speaking, Boss Pei was the boss of Tengda Corporation. Naturally, he could not be considered part of ‘higher management’.
However, the main reason was that—while Boss Pei had set a riddle for everyone-he seemingly didn’t want everyone to spread the correct answer. Instead, it seemed like he wanted everyone to solve the riddle on their own and slowly come to understand it in private.
Each time Boss Pei noticed that the ‘correct answer’ seemed to be spreading around, he would become upset.
Yet, they could not just keep mum.
Boss Pei’s riddle was too difficult. When would they ever be able to figure it out if each of them tried to find the answer on their own?
The group would only be meant for discussion and inspiration. It would not count as cheating. All of them were so close. They could skip the pleasantries and cut right to the chase.
Lu Mingliang, “What do you think Boss Pei is trying to tell us through this award?
“I’m referring to the first two lines in particular.
“[Image).” Although everyone had a different understanding of the Tengda Spirit, each department in the company was faced with a different situation as well. That meant each of the departments held information that the others would not have access to.
The only one who had a full picture and who understood everything like the back of his hand was Boss Pei.
Naturally, all of them had to work together to figure out Boss Pei’s true intentions behind his actions. The departments had to piece all the information together to successfully reach a comprehensive answer.
Huang Sibo, “You’re the one who won the prize. You should go first.” Zhang Yuan, “That’s right. You go first.”
Lu Mingliang, “Alright. Everyone knows that Upwind Logistics has been incurring losses ever since it was established. However, after being transferred to this company, I realized that Upwind Logistics has made significant contributions to Tengda Corporation.
“From its delivery services to its support to departments like ROF and Otto Technologies, one can tell how much Upwind Logistics has changed the logistical state and living habits of Jingzhou’s locals.
“We’re not purely delivering goods to people’s doorsteps. We’re also establishing a close relationship with our users. Now, our old users only engage us for deliveries and not any other company. Although we’re losing money, we have full control of our customers. They are our most important resource.
“On top of that, tracing over our users’ images allows us to analyze the market well. That means we can conduct research for the other department and leave deep and lasting effects.
“Maybe Boss Pei gave Upwind Logistics the ‘Cornerstone Award’ because he thinks that Upwind Logistics is critical and foundational to Tengda Corporation.”
Zhang Yuan, “Yes, that makes sense. Without Upwind Logistics, ROF’s business would not have developed so smoothly in the beginning. We would also be having a lot of trouble with the after-sales services.”
Chang You, “I agree, too. Boss Pei obviously views Upwind Logistics as Tengda Corporation’s lifeline. The name ‘Cornerstone Award’ says it all.”
Lu Mingliang, “Do any of you have anything else to add?”
Lin Wan, “Boss Pei emphasized that only companies that incur a lot of losses can earn this award. He even said we may win it in the future. That means being a ‘lifeline’ is not the only criterion for the award.
“The meaning behind incurring losses is more important.
“Shang Yang Games incurred losses first before it generated profits. It could only turn losses into profits because it learned from its past mistakes and accumulated experiences.
“Since failure is the mother of all success, we can also say loss is the mother of all profits. Boss Pei should be trying to tell us that if we want to learn how to run, we must first know how to fall; if we want to learn how to make profits, we must first know how to incur losses.”
Zhang Yuan, “I completely agree! It was the same for Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. “If Boss Pei had not insisted on incurring losses, it would not have achieved its current success.”
Ma Dubiao, “The same can be said about Zhongdian Chinese Network.
“On top of that, I think we can analyze those two lines.
“A chip off a mountain of gold does not affect its height; an immeasurable sea remains deep despite a blight.”
“That’s so philosophical!”
“The second line is especially so. It’s saying that the ocean of wealth has no boundaries. One might not be able to find the limits even if they dedicated their entire lives to doing so. However, if you already have enough financial power, you can still continue to accumulate more riches.
“The more eroded the sea bed, the deeper the sea would become.
“The erosion refers to losses. In other words, we might be incurring losses on the surface, but that just means we would be able to generate much more wealth.
“That confirms that Boss Pei is encouraging us to spend as much money as possible to push our boundaries just like Upwind Logistics. They’re not spending money for the sake of it, but they’re spending money to enlarge their scale!” Zhang Yuan, “1024 Digital Day was the same.”
He Desheng, “Er, bosses, I thought of something else, but I’m not sure if it’ll be appropriate to say it.”
Lin Wan, “We’re one family. There’s no need for nonsense like that. Just speak your mind.”
He Desheng, “Er, alright. I thought about more things from the word ‘cornerstone’. I don’t think Upwind Logistics is just Tengda Corporation’s cornerstone. It’s also society’s cornerstone.
“One could even say that one of Tengda Corporation’s missions is to become a cornerstone of society! “I’m in the investment department, and so I feel especially strongly about this. When Boss Pei was personally in charge of Dream Realization Ventures, he only invested in two projects: the shared phone booths and Top Student, Come Quick’. He didn’t even spare other profitable-looking projects a second glance.
“Both projects that he invested in were very advantageous to society.
“The shared phone booths provided independent spaces for ordinary consumers to rest while shopping in malls. They also became landmarks that boasted our malls’ culture. On the other hand, the ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ project gathered everyone in academics and steered them toward a common noble goal of ‘breaking boundaries and sharing knowledge’.
“Compared to Dream Realization Venture’s current situation and results, Upwind Logistics is obviously more practical and outstanding.
“That’s why I think turning Tengda Corporation into a cornerstone of society is one of Boss Pei’s goals. One important criterion in awarding the ‘Cornerstone Award’ must be whether a business has contributed enough to society or not.”
Lin Wan, “That makes a lot of sense!”
Hu Xianbin, “You’re speaking too quickly. I just opened the app and saw 99+ unread messages. I was so stunned. Would a class rep summarize the answers to the homework that Boss Pei gave us? I want to copy them.”
Lin Wan, “Let me.
“The ‘Cornerstone Award’ has four main motives.
“First, it rewards departments that provide essential services. Second, it encourages us to be bold and incur losses for the sake of profits, so that we can learn from our mistakes. Third, it encourages far-sightedness because spending huge sums of money pushes our boundaries and increases our market share. Fourth, it motivates us to be responsible members of society.”
Huang Sibo, “Exactly! Exactly!”
Lu Mingliang
, “Yes, that should be all that Boss Pei intended.”
Zhang Yuan, “That means that Upwind Logistics truly deserves the award. They’ve accomplished all four points. I’ve thought of a way to win the next award!”
He Desheng, “Let’s compete to see which of our departments would get it first, then.” Zhang Yuan, “… D*mn, I forgot that I am no longer the head of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe or ROF Computer-Installation. Why am I still talking so much? @XiaoPeng, let’s chat in private.”
Xiao Peng was supposed to be in charge of the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe branches in Lincheng
Ever since he was ‘forced to retire’, Zhang Yuan had been thinking about promoting Xiao Peng to become the next head of ROF Computer-Installation and Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, given his outstanding performance in Lincheng.
Lin Wan, We’ve figured it out. Dismissed!”
Li Yada, “Hold on!”
Ma Dubiao, “?”
Hu Xianbin, “Big Sister Li, aren’t you overseas?”
Lin Wan, “Eh? Yada, what time is it where you are?”
Li Yada, “That’s not important. I woke up in the middle of the night because I felt thirsty, and I just so happened to read this conversation. I have some things to add!
“I think there’s another meaning to ‘cornerstone’.
“Ma Yiqun only analyzed half of the saying, but he left out the first half: ‘a chip off a mountain of gold does not affect its height’.
“Why did Boss Pei say that? It’s precisely because a mountain of gold has deep roots. That’s why whatever little it lacks would not cause it to collapse.
“Additionally, this award is called the ‘Cornerstone Award’. That means we have to keep working on our foundation.
“The saying about the mountain of gold comes before the saying about the immeasurable sea. That means the foundation should be our priority. Only after we’ve settled that would we have a solid foundation to spend money and increase our share of the market.”
Ma Dubiao, “That makes sense! Ai, why didn’t I think about that? I’m embarrassed, I’m embarrassed.”
Li Yada, “No, no, no. I only thought about this because you analyzed the second half of the saying. You humanities majors are still better at these things than I am.”
Hao Yun, “Yes, all of you make so much sense!
“I think those five points can be summarized as the ‘cornerstone spirit’. From now on, it’ll be one of the aspects of the Tengda spirit.
“That gives the HR department a clear direction for work in the future!”
Soon, the chat became filled with encouraging comments. The more the heads read through the conversation, the more logical everything seemed.
Boss Pei was a philosopher indeed. In just two lines, he could include so many lessons. That made him as good as the great nobility from the past!
Chapter 469 - Instant Shock!
Chapter 469 Instant Shock!
March 28th, Monday…
It was said that Boss Li and his companions had already decided on projects surrounding the Thriller Hostel last weekend. In the coming weeks, they would begin inspection and construction. Of course, they would not start building hotels and restaurants from scratch. Instead, they would use the existing factory buildings in the industrial zone and then renovate them. If they rushed and worked overtime, they would probably be able to complete the projects at the same time as the Thriller Hostel. Even if finished later, it would not be that much later.
As long as they paid enough, the workers would work fast enough.
Pei Qian felt slightly troubled about the speed of those surrounding projects, but he still maintained his cool.
Ai, if I can’t stop them, I should just let them
be.
Today was Monday. Pei Qian had initially planned to go straight to Fei Huang Workspace and tell them about the plan for ‘shock therapy’. However, Hao Yun from the HR department had informed him that she had something to report. Thus, after having lunch, Pei Qian went to the headquarters first.
Pei Qian was a little puzzled because the HR department was not supposed to be busy now. Had Hao Yun created trouble for Pei Qian because she had had nothing better to do?
If that was the case, this was an extremely bad sign. Pei Qian would have to consider changing the head of the HR department.
Hao Yun knocked on Pei Qian’s door and entered. “Boss Pei, I mainly want to report the salary adjustments for the various departments.”
Pei Qian was even more confused now. “Salary adjustments?”
What did that mean? Wasn’t Tengda treating them well enough? Was there… room for improvement?
Pei Qian immediately became more interested.
Hao Yun said, “It’s like that, Boss Pei. The various departments are trying to solidify their foundation, and so they’ve conducted a check on their internal affairs. In the process, they discovered that several employees have been subject to pay inequity.
“The HR department conducted some checks and realized that this was a problem that existed across the board in the various departments. Thus, we spent Friday afternoon and this morning coming up with a plan which we want to run by you.”
Pei Qian understood a little more, but he was still bewildered. He knew what ‘pay inequity’ meant.
It meant that newer employees in the company were being paid more than older employees, the first-tier employees were being paid more than the management, and subordinates were being paid more than their supervisors.
Those symptoms existed in many companies. For example, an older employee could have joined the company at a market price of three thousand yuan per month. After two years, the employee’s salary could have increased, but not by much.
However, in those two years, the market price would have jumped to 4,500 yuan per month. Inexperienced newbies would thus be hired with a higher salary than the experienced workers, resulting in inequity.
Pay inequity was common because most companies would not adjust all their employees’ salaries based on the market price each year. They simply could not bear to part with the capital.
It was for that reason that most companies prohibited their employees from talking about their salaries. If they did so, pay inequity would be exposed; many employees would become unsatisfied and quit.
If a supervisor found out that he had been doing more work than his subordinate but being paid a lower salary, he would naturally become upset.
As a company that had been established for more than a year, Tengda had also conducted several recruitment drives. Although it often increased employees’ salaries, each person’s role, experience, and capabilities were different after all. Thus, pay inequity was still present.
Of course, there was much less pay inequity in Tengda than in other companies because of frequent pay increments and significant company benefits.
Still, Hao Yun found it important to build a firm foundation based on the ‘cornerstone spirit’. Pay inequity was a hidden threat. Although most companies did not care about it and nothing was likely to happen even if Tengda turned a blind eye, Hao Yun still chose to report it to Boss Pei and allow him to make the decision.
Pei Qian took the documents from Hao Yun, but the lines of numbers only made him dizzy. He pretended to read it, and then said, “Do you mean that a few newer employees are being paid more than the older employees?”
Hao Yun pondered for a moment and said, “That’s right, but the situation is a bit more complicated in reality. “Simply put, the ‘older employees’ joined the company six months earlier than the ‘newer employees’. The former are more capable and experienced than the latter, but they are only earning two hundred yuan more. That’s a form of pay inequity as well.”
Pei Qian’s eyes lit up at once. Beautifully done! I had been worried about not being able to increase my employees’ pay! “That’s easy to deal with. Pay them more!
“Check all the employees’ salaries against the highest-paid a
nd newest employee at regular intervals. Make sure that all the older employees are being paid adequately!”
Hao Yun was stunned. “Er, Boss Pei, of course, that would be the best. Doing so would be easy while we have few employees. However, I have to remind you that as the number of employees increases, the amount that we would have to top up would also increase. It might even surpass our imaginations.
“Other companies basically… try to scrimp and save in this area. Companies in various industries do that.”
The amount that we would have to top up would keep increasing? That’s great!
Pei Qian felt as happy as if he had just found money on the ground. He decisively said, “That’s what we’ll do! Top up all of their salaries at once! I don’t care how many older employees we have or how much it’ll cost. Top them all up!” Hao Yun confirmed once again. “All of them?”
She knew that Boss Pei was not telling her to make everyone’s pay the same but to get rid of pay inequity altogether. Without hesitation, Pei Qian said, “That’s right! All of them! There should still be time. Start from this month and ask the finance department to redo the payroll.”
Hao Yun nodded, looking extremely emotional. “Alright, I understand. I’ll inform the finance department at once.”
Although Hao Yun had expected this outcome before she reported the information to Boss Pei, Boss Pei’s urgency made her feel his genuine concern for his employees.
Just as Hao Yun turned to leave, Boss Pei stopped her.
“Wait a minute.
“At the start, you said that the various departments are trying to solidify their foundation, and so they’ve conducted a check on their internal affairs. It was in this process that they discovered the pay inequity… why are they trying to solidify their foundation?”
Pei Qian suddenly realized that there was a problem with Hao Yun’s introduction.
Smiling, Hao Yun said, “Boss Pei, didn’t you deliver a ‘Cornerstone Award’ on Friday to hint to everyone to solidify their foundations? That’s why the various departments started conducting self-checks. However, apart from the pay inequity, they did not discover any serious problems.
Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883 Page 292