Setting aside for a moment financial shenanigans, if a company has excess cash and doesn't have good investment options, why wouldn't they distribute that money (that is part of their corporate assets) to the owners of the company, a.k.a. the shareholders? And if they give that money that's already owned by the shareholders directly to those shareholders, why not do it through share buybacks that are more tax efficient than dividends? Giving raises to employees with that money or part of it is OK if it will improve the company's performance long term. Otherwise, the managers would be misusing the owners' money. Don't forget that the managers don't own the company (at most they own a small fraction of it).