Uggghh... So the very important managerial task of divvying up the cash was too time consuming and didn't engage their creative selves enough, so they just picked it up and dumped it in everybody else's lap under the guise of democracy and transparency. Classic management. Maybe they should quit their executive jobs and become graphic designers if they aren't sufficiently stimulated by managerial tasks.

My being an excellent quality, steadily improving developer is all the justification I should need to provide for my steady paycheck, and if I provide an increasingly good value to the company, regular reasonable salary increases. Don't make me fight with some shiny new MBA in Sales that drools at the thought of a cutthroat negotiation, just because management feels that making the decision themselves is too difficult or boring.