Oracle Says Mark Hurd Does Not Beat His Dog: An Ethical Issue

Mark Hurd does not beat his dog. He did not sexually harass a Hewlett-Packard HPQ contractor. He would never disclose HP trade secrets to his new employer Oracle ORCL despite the fact that he has secrets he could disclose. In short, he is a man of honor. None of that gets to the heart of the dispute between HP on the one side and Hurd and Oracle on the other. Hurd signed a piece of paper about trade secrets. The paper may not hold up in court, but Hurd undertook an ethical obligation when he signed it and that has been lost in the rhetoric of whether it is proper for him to serve as co-president of Oracle. The fact that Hurd said he would honor his obligations did not keep HP from suing for assurances that he would not share any of the important knowledge from the company he ran with the company where he works now. Oracle CEO and founder Larry Ellison took issue with the HP board of directors when they let Hurd go. The suit about trade secrets has made him even more angry and he has started to make threats. Ellison owns over 20% of Oracle, and is extraordinarily rich. He can do as he pleases at the company where he has been CEO since 1977. To read the rest, head over to 247WallSt.com