In the same vein as our upbeat "know your partners" piece about BMW a week or so back (about which I took some good-natured ribbing from one or two of my colleagues for appearing obsequious), I now offer one about Oracle corp.

Today's San Jose Mercury News has an article entitled "Pleasant Surprise" by John Boudreau about Oracle's buyout of PeopleSoft. It begins:

They were supposed to be corporate raiders, riding into Pleasanton to pillage PeopleSoft, the much beloved software company Larry Ellison and his Oracle lieutenants had successfully vanquished after an 18-month hostile takeover battle.

Small businesses feared Oracle's $10.6 billion acquisition of the hometown PeopleSoft in January would hurt their customers -- and spending power. City officials worried about losing their largest employer, and a possible strain on social services from fired workers. Many foresaw mom-and-pop operations, already hurt by the earlier tech downturn, on the verge of closing.

But then economic Armageddon didn't happen. Small businesses didn't shutter. And Oracle executives reached out to the community with a philanthropic spirit that has won over city officials.

Turns out there's a smiley face behind the warrior face.

Here is a link to the entire article. The Mercury News site requires registration, but it is free.