Oracle Corporation Essay

The Central Intelligence Agency had commissioned the project to build a commercial database management system for IBM mainframe computers and code-named it Oracle. Software Development Laboratories took the Oracle name in 1982. After completion of the project, Ellison, Miner, Oates, and Scott had a vision of developing and distributing their database software as a profitable business opportunity. From 1982 to 1986, Oracle had achieved 100% growth. On March 15th, 1986, Oracle went public, one day after Microsoft’s initial public offering. From 1986 to 1989, revenues skyrocketed from $55 million to $584 million, making it one of the largest independent software companies in the world, employing over 4,000 people in 24 countries. The Oracle Corporation’s objective of becoming a profitable database software company had been achieved. Market and industry growth continued until the third quarter of 1990. Oracle suffered a $15 million dollar loss on $240 million in revenues. Between 1988 and 1991, operating margins had plummeted from 23 to 3 percent. During this time, the company’s stock value also fell. Oracle responded by letting go of 400 employees in the United States and reorganizing its senior management team. This business problem was the direct result of something the company simply overlooked. As the company was focusing all of its energies on growth during the late 1980’s, they were losing sight of their internal operations and infrastructure. They also planned their expenses based on the 100% annual growth rate they experienced in the prior years, causing them to lose money. In addition, they delayed the delivery of their latest product, which allowed the competition to draw closer to them. However, the release of their next product would see Oracle quickly rebound and turn things back around. In July of 1991, Oracle was working on a new database software that had the ability to manage text, video, audio, and other data through a set of loosely connected servers. This database software was called Oracle 7, and was one of many IT solutions that would put Oracle ahead of the competition and save the company. 996 saw database sales grow by 20 percent and then to 10 percent in 1997, the year Microsoft released its rival SQL server, which was a cheaper alternative database release with aspirations of stealing Oracle’s market share. During this time, Oracle attempted to expand beyond databases and entered into the two largest application software markets, enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management. Ellison saw this as a lucrative business opportunity, considering the fact that the ERP market was estimated at $20 billion in 1999 and projected to exceed $65 billion by 2003. The CRM market was estimated at $4 billion in 1999 and projected to exceed $16 billion by 2003. Ellison recognized that CEO’s wanted to understand profitability per costumer and to be able to detect dissatisfaction before the customer leaves. He realized that ERP and CRM software would allow CEO’s to do that by turning database information into knowledge about consumers. Ellison’s vision of internet-enabled software began to take shape in 1999 with the release of Oracle8i. It was followed by internet-enabled versions of all the company’s key software products. A key IS solution in the development of Oracle Corporation would be Oracle e-Business Suite, which would include a collection of ERP and CRM applications that automated many necessary business functions. This would be the beginning of the high impact IS solutions to follow. In June of 1999, Ellison declared that Oracle would attempt to save $1billion dollars by the end of 2000 by transforming into an e-business. Ellison then eliminated all non-e-business options from the company. This bold move was an incredible success and a brilliant IS solution to some of the company’s business problems. The changes were easy and smooth to implement. An example given in the case was that of an expense report. In the past, a sales rep would fill out an expense report and manually send it to headquarters. Now the sales rep just completes the forms on the web where the report can be tracked. Not only did this create $6 million dollars in direct savings, the reports were easier and faster to complete. This solution did not only benefit employees, but customers, too. In the past if a customer wanted to demo Oracle’s software, a sales rep had to set an appointment to do the demo in person. Now, the sales rep can gain access to the customer’s browser and, over the phone, can do the demo over the browser at Oracle. com. The shift to self-service was a very necessary and profitable solution for Oracle. They began saving millions of dollars and hours of time. Another business problem Oracle had was a lack of centralization in the business. One clever way they did this was by changing incentives for country managers. Country manager’s incentives were originally based on revenue. This was to be changed to shift their incentives to be based on margin. In the past, 97 e-mail servers existed with almost 120 databases in over 50 countries. This was dramatically reduced when Oracle gave each country CEO a choice. They could receive free e-mail through Redwood Shores or pay to service an e-mail server, which would directly impact their margin, and ultimately, their variable pay. This was a very effective IS solution to the lack of centralization problem the business had. Oracle would continue to centralize the business by pulling human resources, legal, sales administration, and marketing out of each country office and consolidating them at Redwood Shores. Oracle now had a single system that served everything. Oracle saved a lot of wasted money by centralizing its marketing department. The products were the same in every country, so the centralization made sense and was absolutely necessary. By June of 2000, Oracle had gone from 63 to 17 company websites worldwide. By August 2000, the company was down to one website, Oracle. com. This solution saved the company a lot of money that was being wasted operating multiple websites for multiple countries and confusing the brand with different languages, colors, and logos. The transformation to e-business saved Oracle a ton of money, but this wasn’t the only benefit of the move. The switch also generated marketing pull. Oracle’s customer base grew as a result of having better information about their customers’ and sales outlets. The pull strategy came to fruition by two combining factors. The story of the company’s transformation combined with the new gained credibility the company received by performing this transformation so publicly. Now instead of sales reps attempting to sell the CEO of another company their software, CEO’s were going directly to Oracle technology to transform their own businesses. This pull allowed Oracle to open an online store, as opposed to hiring more sales people to handle the increased demand. This latest IS solution, in turn, created more sales. In 1999, Oracle began streamlining its Oracle University, which supported 2500 full-time employees in 143 countries while enrolling about 500,000 students annually. These Oracle courses led to the certification of developers and programmers that the company needed to continue growth. This business solution was yet another great move designed to farm their own employees. iLearning technology was then created as a means of a continuing education extension to Oracle University’s certification process. This software would be hosted online and could be updated daily without patches. Oracle Corporation is a great example of a company who had the ability to predict the future of technology and make innovations to lead the industry. They took risks, and they paid off. Larry Ellison took a big risk when he eliminated all non-e-business elements out of his business and made the transformation to e-business, and his company was rewarded with tremendous cost savings and higher revenues. He also predicted at the end of a June 2000 press conference that the software industry would vanish and be replaced by a service industry. This remains to fully be seen, but it appears there could be truth to this. Cloud computing has been the next innovation in computer technology, as we say many companies now providing services that used to require us to install software on our computers.

The Birth Of Venus

The Birth of Venus is a painting familiar especially to those who know about mythology. Sandra Poetical wanted to show the birth of Venus one of the Greek gods in his own point of view. He demonstrates this by how he painted Venus and whom he painted in the drawing with Venus. He also shows it by the type of media he used and what he painted it on. For this painting, he had used tempera on canvas. His inspiration for painting Venus came about during the Renaissance era. It is one of the first non-biblical female nudes in Italian art (Birth of Venus). Poetical was influenced to paint Venus from reading Homer's Scripts.In particular, one of homer's scripts was about how Crocus had clashed with his father Uranus. During the clash, Crocus emasculates Uranus and because he had done Venus is born. In this work, he shows Venus coming of a shell nude covering her body in a modest way. It would signify not only her birth to a new world but also show humanism. The background of the painting sh ows the ocean which is how she was able to be born in the first place (Botulism's Birth of Venus). Also, he includes Zephyr's, the god of the wind and he is shown holding on to a nymph named Colorist.The wind signifies a guidance so it would make sense to why Zephyr's is in the painting since he leading Venus. Furthermore, he also includes Pomona the goddess of the spring she awaits Venus with a mantle which is blowing in the wind from Zephyr's. It shows how Pomona is welcoming the new goddess. Moreover, he painted Venus in such a beautiful way that it shows that he had studied the subject of the painting. It demonstrates that Poetical had thoroughly thought over about how he would want to present Venus. Thus, Poetical had shown many symbols in his painting that corresponds to Homer's work. The Birth of Venus The Birth of Venus by Sandra Botanical Visual Elements * Line * The main type of lines that are used in the Birth of Venus are mostly actual lines. The way they are used by the artist is to form specific shapes to tell a story about the goddess Venus. There are a few implied lines are used to create the ocean as to which Venus emerges from, as well as the waves in her hair to show that it has movement. The actual lines are used to create the shapes of the nature and the angels and mother figure that surround Venus. Shape * Mass * Space * Time and Motion Botanical implies time and motion have occurred with the way the figures are slightly angled towards each other. Venus' hair is drawn so that it looks like it is blowing in the wind as she has emerged from the water, while the woman that is standing on land waiting for her is leaning towards her as to cover her with the cloth that she is holding and her feet are positioned so it shows that she is walking.The Angels are drawn to show t hat they are flying towards the goddess as if to welcome her. * Light * Color * The colors that are used were used to create a calming sensation when you coked at the painting. Botanical used mostly blues and greens which create calming nature of the artwork. He painted the ocean a blue green which is more muted than the bright blues you may see in other paintings when it comes to corners.Venus' hair is a golden color which reflects the light that is used in the painting which makes it a brighter color than the sky in the background which is darker. * Texture Principles of Design * Unity and Vanity * Balance * Emphasis and Subordination * Directional Forces * Contrast * Repetition and Rhythm * Scale and Proportion

Summary of “Deep Intellect”

In â€Å"Deep Intellect† author Sy Montgomery makes his case in showing that octopuses are intellectual invertebrates. Scientists believed that octopuses were unintelligent brainless creatures. However new studies have amazingly revealed just the opposite. Studies now show that octopuses are intelligent, emotional and have individual personalities. Montgomery talks about his encounter with an octopus, Athena, at the Aquarium in New England and the different studies that prove that octopuses are intelligent. Octopuses are invertebrates that touch and taste with the thousands of suckers that are on their eight arms.A study by Alexa Warburton although problematic revealed that â€Å"California two-spots quickly learned which side of a T-maze offered a terra – cotta pot to hide in† (page 3). The octopuses appeared to intentionally not cooperate by jumping off the mesh while being scooped out of their tanks. Scientists measure intelligence by brain size and counting n eurons. Octopuses have about 130 million neurons in its walnut size brain and amazingly three-fifths of their neurons are in its arms. The intelligence of octopuses also includes the ability to change colors and shapes to hunt and to escape predators.Scientists believe that octopuses are colorblind but new evidence proposes that they may see with their skin. A study by Jennifer Mather shows that octopuses can employ foresight and even plan. Mather observed an octopus choosing rocks to place in front of its home to feel safe before going to sleep. Another study by Roland Anderson reports an octopus playing with a pill bottle as a toy. The octopus was blowing water to move the pill bottle from one end of her tank to the other. Anderson states that â€Å"Only intelligent animals play – animals like crows and chimps, dogs and humans† (page 5).In a study by Bill Murphy octopuses opened locks on boxes to get food and they used different strategies showing individuality. One octopus was so eager to get the food that he broke the outer box and then squeezed into the inner box. Roland Anderson also proved in a study that octopuses remember familiar humans. In this experiment one person would just feed the octopuses and another person would touch them with a briskly stick. After a few week, the octopuses would shoot water at the person that touched them with the briskly stick at first sight. However when the octopuses saw the person that fed them they would move toward that person.Scientists have noticed that octopuses and humans have eyes that are almost the same. Humans and octopuses eyes have transparent corneas, regulate light with diaphragms and focus lenses with a ring of muscle. Based on the research data octopuses are unsocial creatures that have a short life span. They have evolved into intelligent and emotional creatures that have individual personality. Scientists today still know very little about the intellect of octopuses. To understand the m ind of these eight arms wonders, scientists must rethink the way they examine the nature of the mind.

The Westwood High School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Westwood High School - Essay Example The institution was found to suffer from several happenings in a continual manner like losing in the state basketball tournament, death of a teacher due to accident, and suspension of students owing to issues like plagiarism. However of late it is found that the sudden emergence of some scintillating incidents inside the school premises has in total disturbed the educational atmosphere of the institution. The region of Winterhaven was considered as a peace loving locality whose people worked to restore the both the aesthetics and quality of life in the region. In the current scenario however it is observed that the region is increasingly becoming the haven of drug takers and other anti-social people. This rise in criminal activity in the region has also gained roots in the campus of Westwood School where large amount of weaponry was recovered in recent times. This rise in the level of criminal activity in the school campus gained impetus because of the prevalence of an open campus fo r which miscreants from outside gained the chance of penetrating inside during the recess hours. An incident of firing in which a student of the school got injured by the act of an outsider and also the rise in the taking of drugs inside the campus disturbed the school’s atmosphere to a very high extent. ... The rise in the number of anti-socials is found to gain a huge spur in the Chicago region like that happening in the region of Winterhaven in Washington who targets intruding the educational premises in an enhanced manner (Associated Press). Alternative Suggestions for the Identified Problem The problem been specifically identified in the above case large number of potential suggestions can be rendered to the high school administration committee to help take care of the young students. Several alternative solutions like putting barbed wire for proper fencing of the school premises can be done to reduce the level of intrusions of the miscreants. Again the frequency of conducting security checks can be increased inside the school premises wherein the bags and lockers of the students can be checked by members of the school community. This activity is considered would deter the students from carrying harmful weapons and drugs provided by the outsiders. However in addition to these kind o f physical activities the school authorities and the governing body can also take the help of technical elements like putting of hidden cameras and videos across the school campus to gain live footages of student activities in a spontaneous manner. Metal detectors can also be rendered in the hands of the security guards who can do checking of the school bags of the students at the time of entry. Vehicles parked in the parking lots of the school preemies must be frequently checked to avoid the rise of such criminal activities. Moreover the school authorities are also required to encourage the support from civilian armies like police and other investigating teams who would help in tracking down

Venus Rising from the Sea; A Deception by Raphaelle Peale Essay

Venus Rising from the Sea; A Deception by Raphaelle Peale - Essay Example From the title, Venus, we can suppose that the woman is a goddess, not an ordinary woman. Perhaps only idealized by the painter, the piece is so unusual as to inspire a deep sense of mystery. Intriguing in its veiled meaning and dark somber background we wish we could see more of the figure behind the cloth. The artist, Raphaelle Peale was known for his still lifes and we see the masterful technique in the rendering of the sheet. The drapery and folds of the cloth are so voluptuous, the 3-dimensional quality places such importance on it, that we barely notice the woman behind it. Perhaps this is what the deception is, at first glance the work appears to be the fabric alone and we must look closely to see the woman at all. Without many elements in the painting it is easy to see its different parts. At first we are confronted with the sheet, bold and overpowering both in size and brightness when seen against the dark ground. Next we see the strip of fabric it hangs from as we look mor e closely. Once we come to the top of the canvas we see the arm reaching above the drapery. After we recognize this as a female figure and begin to understand the image we see her foot and the flowers around it. The background recedes so much that we don’t really notice it itself but become aware of it in sharp contrast to the foreground because of the dark values. It is difficult to tell if we see it earlier or only after looking at the elements placed in front of it. At first glance, my response to the painting is that it is a wonderful contemporary piece, almost photographic of a plain white sheet. I then came to discover that the painting was done in the early 19th century, 150 years before I had imagined. The artist was from Philadelphia and this probably would have first been seen there as part of a local exhibit although his work was shown in other exhibitions in other parts of the country. This painting did not serve any special purpose. Painted in oil on canvas it d eparts from the artist’s main body of work in still life to include a figure. Study for Aspects of Negro Life: An Idyll of the Deep South by Aaron Douglas â€Å"Study for Aspects of Negro Life: An Idyll of the Deep South† is a narrative painting depicting a celebratory scene of musicians gathered in a field. Painted by Aaron Douglas, one of the most influential painters of the Harlem Renaissance, the scene most likely recounts the life of African Americans. The Harlem Renaissance was a movement in New York, born in the same self named place. Members of the artistic community hoped to portray African Americans and bridge the gap to the predominantly white world. Artists, writers and musicians all played a part in the â€Å"rebirth† of African expression. The musicians we see behind the geometric, Art Deco style circular pattern seem to be enjoying an evening of song and dance. Alongside them we see men working as if sowing the land. The setting appears to be a fo rest or wooded area in the evening. Long known for singing to pass the time while planting the fields, this piece is reminiscent of early African farm workers. The mixture of elements, trees and field, evening and people at work, musicians in the same field as the workers, all add to the surreal quality of the painting. The first thing we notice in the painting is the surface layer. The concentric circles create a veil we must look through to see the picture behind it. After enjoying this geometric glow of

Intel Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Intel Corporation - Case Study Example Cliff Edwards (2006) mentions the changing culture in the Intel Corporation. During the term of Andrew Grove, his motto was "Only the paranoid survive". He and former chief Craig Barret introduced the manner of giving out money to some computer makers for joint advertising. During the term of new CEO, Paul Otellini, his diplomatic nature made him adopt his motto of "Praise in public, criticize in private". (Edwards, 2006) Edwards (2006) mentions the changes that are pushed by Intel Chief Marketing Officer Eric Kim on the Intel brand. Kim suggested to stop the manufacture of old models that were created during the tenure of former Intel Chief Executive Andrew Grove and focus on the new ones. Kim wanted to retain the Pentium brand. Figure 1 shows the evolution of the Intel brand logo from which according to Edwards (2006) had a "dropped e" until the new Intel brand logo which according to Jeff Adkins (2006) is to be launched in 2010. Intel's CEO Paul Otellini supported the move of reforms on the company. He wants to produce products not only for personal computers but also on consumer electronics, wireless communications, and health care. Edwards (2006) identifies the reason for this change which was the decreased revenue growth for computers because of added competitors like mobile phones that also have features similar to computers. Aside from Intel's main products, the microprocessors, Otellini wants to produce all varieties of chips and software and combine them into "platforms". (Edwards, 2006) III. STRATEGIC CONTROLS AND IMPLEMENTATIONS In response to the reported drawbacks during the 2nd quarter of 2006 wherein Intel Corporation placed behind its rival chipmaker Advance Micro Devices Incorporated (AMD), Edwards (2006) reports that Intel Corp. began decreasing its prices of computer chips by at least 200 U.S. dollars. It also introduced its new processor the Intel Core 2 Duo which runs twice the performance of Pentium 4 desktop chips and saves more energy for laptop computers. For the older Pentium processors, Intel will continue manufacturing them for the people who have low budget allotted for purchasing computers. Edwards (2006) argues that if there will be a price war between Intel and AMD, Intel will come out benefiting from its larger sales through lower costs. Intel has better manufacturing techniques which give the company the room to lower its prices that will not affect the overall profits. Edwards (2006) adds that AMD can match the technology Intel has by the second half of 2007. (Edwards, 2006) Aili McConnon (2007) reports a manifestation of the vision of Otellini of developing products aside from computer microchips. The company has been developing a highly developed version of motion capture in which people will not need remotes to change the channels and volume of their televisions. (McConnon, 2007) This strategy is one way of promoting the brand in the entertainment arena. Bruce Einhorn (2006) cites another move for the company in making its products accessible by many people and the Kim's vision of improving the lives of people. In the case of China were Internet Caf computers reached 11 million units in 2006, the Intel management created a system in assisting in the management and update

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Essay Example The essay "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" examines isolation theme in Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Stephen appears as a character, which we can see from inside as we are able to note his inner transactions and developments with the passage of time. Before A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, no other writer wrote like Joyce. It was for the first time that a character was seen in terms of his psychological development. Stephen is introduced first in the novel as three years old boy that proceeds towards his vocation of an artist by a continuous psychological development. Stephen starts his education at Clongowes Wood College, which is a Jesuit boarding school for boys but later on, he has to get admission in another educational institution, which is less prestigious as compared to Clongowes Wood College on the basis of financial problems faced by his father. At Clongowes Wood College, he is to suffer embarrassment on the basis of his distant thin king. He is unable to connect to his peers because of his isolated nature and search for his self-identity. His new boarding school is Belvedere College. Stephen is portrayed as a good student, an excellent essay writer, who wins awards and a good actor while being at Belvedere College. Stephen is a promising student but he is unable to feel attachment to his surroundings. He considers himself somewhat separated. Unlike other students of his class, Stephen is somewhat sceptic about the religion.