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A Reflection On Sun Executive Payouts For Failure
With the Oracle/Sun merger finally completing at the end of January, one former Sun worker has taken the time to reflect a bit on the extravagant compensation and golden parachutes that the former executives at Sun are receiving for failing at their jobs. "I think it's fair to say that, for all the miscues that eventually led to its demise, the company created many products and technologies of value along the way, enough so that Oracle thought it was worth it to acquire them and try to keep them going. However, I think that it's equally fair to conclude that, after years of running losses, including about $2 billion in fiscal 2009, so that a buyout was necessary to avoid looming bankruptcy, Sun's executives did nothing to deserve lavish rewards, by any conceivable meaning of the word 'deserve.' But what actually happened is by now a familiar story. [...] And here's a prediction that I feel quite certain of: if, against expectations and my hopes, Ellison drops the ball and things start going south for Oracle, it's the employees who will suffer for it, and he'll be doing just fine."
Come on dude, do you really think people here are retards?
This is my sig.
Why is it that people doing what people do naturally -- looking out for their own interests -- is normal and acceptable when you do it, but evil and wrong when somebody else does it?
Uhm. WTF. The article would have been better if it focused on EITHER divergent views on social liberalism vs conservatism OR the fact that Sun screwed itself repeatedly through bad management yet still somehow found a buyer (who's the bigger fool?).
As it is, the article comes of as an angry, rambling rant flipping between one or the other yet not making a cohesive point - aside from slamming capitalist and conservatives - but hey, it's on the daily KOS, so no great surprise there.
Sun was a company with great tech, at the time. But if it's one thing technologists need to understand - it's not how great your product is, but how well you can a) SELL IT (capitalist dogs!) and b) EVOLVE it - fall behind and instead of going to the great socialist nirvana in the sky you get eaten up by the darwin doggies that took you down.
What happens to sun now is anyone's guess. Oracle's got it's fair shair of WTF and Brilliant! moments, more of the former recently.
be0wulfe
These executives succeeded. In fact they succeeded exceptionally well, in particular by getting IBM and Oracle to do a bidding war over Sun. Who the fuck cares what products died or the history of the company or who lost what job. All that matters, and all that should EVER matter, is the return on investment obtained by shareholders. So fuck you dailykos, you communist bullshit rag site. Communism sucks. Obama sucks. YOU SUCK.
This is because the average person probably isn't thinking much farther ahead than what he'll have for lunch tomorrow.
I'm pretty average and I'm thinking about pizza a couple of days from now. You must be pretty smart, to know so much about average people, and pretty arrogant, to be so wrong.
This is my sig.
Ok, exactly who came up with this rule, and when did this suddenly come about??
Looking out for one's own interests above all others is a natural instinct that comes with humans. This "social responsibility" is a new rule on me...did this just recently trump the old paradigm of individualism, survival of the fittest, etc?
I guess this is the new way of thinking, brought on by years of having no winners/losers in schools, no competition in schools in favor of protecting everyones fragile self esteem. Trouble is, in spite of this indoctrination of many of our young, there are some who still naturally develop the need to succeed, to look out for their own self interests, and when they do, it shocks the hell out of everyone coming out into the big bad world of reality and they don't understand why anyone would do that and rock the kum-bah-ya boat where everyone is equal, and everyone has to play nice and keep the field level.
That just isn't reality, and the sooner you learn that, the sooner you can get out there and work in the real world. It isn't a bad place, but you gotta know the realistic rules and methods people use, and navigate your path through it accordingly.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........