Oracle

• Plenty of parking spaces.
• Adequate campus (Thames Valley Park in Reading).
• Decent benefits package.

Dictatorial management style.

EVERY decision comes from the top down at Oracle, through the management chain. Individual contributors like software engineers and architects have no say.

Faces a problem of an aging workforce as it is staffed by "lifers" who have been at Oracle for anywhere between 15 to 30 years and will only leave when they retire. The average age is around 50 something years old, and most have already paid their mortgages for two or three properties and are just riding the wave. They have no motivation to make a huge contribution; they are more motivated to outlast each other and reach their 20/30 year Oracle reward of a Parker pen.

Management rules by instilling fear and breaking people.

All communication has to be done via the chain of command, i.e., you are not allowed to have a working relationship with your manager's manager and above, lest you be viewed with suspicion.

Managers hoard information and use this as a power play against their direct reports, instead of being open and empowering their employees.

You get the feeling you can be fired anytime for no justifiable reason.

New hires are viewed with suspicion by veteran employees and curbed from performing at a high level.

There is one HR rep per 500 employees or more.

Management frequently "calls out" their direct reports, shaming them publicly and battering them with demotivating comments. Be prepared to be referred to as "naive" or "asking irrelevant questions," etc.

Oracle is only good for non-technical staff such as "Product Managers" who appear to fulfill a redundant role in the corporation and are compensated well for it. It is an IT corporation designed for Product Managers and Sales. It just happens to "have to" employ a few engineers to achieve that. Software engineers and innovators have no value there.

All external experience is meaningless at Oracle because all systems and processes within Oracle are antiquated brainchilds of employees which have been with Oracle for decades. These internal processes/systems are used as a power play and leverage against "all outsiders," which happens to include new employees. So much internal jargon.

Oracle has some of the most spineless employees I have ever seen, who live in fear of management and prey on one another in order to be the manager's pet. They have been groomed into this kind of behavior as a means of survival. The idea is if management has someone else to batter, then you are safe from their verbal abuse and wrath.

Management at Oracle have tremendous egos. They exhibit narcissistic behavior and endeavor to instill a culture of fear and compliance. They do not listen to their direct reports and punish anyone who unsettles their hard-formed, unshakeable views.

Cliques exist based on tenure at the corporation. Some employees are excluded from meetings and treated like lepers.

Management actively, publicly assassinates the character of their direct reports, causing people in the office to have misinformed opinions about certain individuals and giving the idea of incompetence. This has to stop.

Management always has an answer to rebuff their direct reports' suggestions. The cogs in their brains are always spinning twice as fast to come up with answers without thinking things through.