Aside from its distinction as a global technology leader (claiming a market share of about 80% for microprocessors), Intel is also one of the world’s top corporate philanthropists for its numerous cash and in-kind donations as well as programs directed at education to provide a better future for the world’s youth.

The San Francisco Business Times hailed Intel as the third most generous philanthropic corporation. BusinessWeek also praised it, citing the semiconductor giant as one of the Biggest Corporate Givers.

The company views philanthropy as an investment in community, an investment in human development. Anchored on education as its focus area, it has invested over $1 billion in education programs as well as contributed over two million hours in associate volunteerism in over 50 countries. It has developed programs and resource materials that increase education and teaching efficiency.

The Intel Teach Program is among its most remarkable education initiatives. It provides effective training methods and modules for K-12 educators integrating technology with traditional teaching practices. The Program develops interest in problem solving, critical thinking and interpersonal skills to promote better student interaction. It has trained more than 5 million teachers in over 40 countries with a target of increasing this volume to 13 million teachers by 2011. Another initiative, the Intel Learn Program helps youths aged 8 to 26 in developing countries get advance learning skills. To date, this program has already reached more than 662,000 learners in various countries.

Intel wants to promote a deeper appreciation among the youth for the sciences through the Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world’s largest pre-college science competition. This is a venue where young scientific minds translate their ideas into reality and come up with scientific inventions that improve society. The ISEF has convened around 1,500 young scientists from more than 50 countries and awarded more than $4 million in scholarships and prizes.

Intel education initiatives are responsive to the needs of the underserved communities where science literacy and access to technology is low. The Intel Computer Clubhouse Network is an after-school learning program that helps the youth from these communities acquire knowledge and skills necessary for professional success. This program creates a community of learners, a creative and safe place where young people, with the guidance of their adult mentors, can enhance learning and creativity with the aid of technology.

This program is one of the major components in Australia’s $83 million agreement with Shanghai. So far, this investment has been the biggest investment made by Australia in a world expo. The business program will incorporate a variety of industry sectors. It will cover the country’s green building and renewable energy, biotechnology, education, resources, and information. Aside from that the business will also cover the country’s world class financial services as well as its communications technology.

According to Lyndall Sachs, Australia’s targeted business program will offer a valuable platform that would strengthen the country’s relations with China. She also says that the business program will showcase Australia’s innovation and creativity as well as its commercial capability.

Sachs also expressed her delight to see that Australia’s planned business events have taken shape so rapidly. According to the Commissioner General, this signifies the importance that Australia is giving towards the Shanghai World Expo as well as for China itself.

The discussion was attended by several of the country’s bankers, economists, and senior bureaucrats. According to this group of corporate leaders, Dubai’s 2009 growth oriented budget was more focused on the development of more infrastructures. The group also adds that the emphasis towards infrastructure had somehow cushioned the impact of the global economic crisis on the country’s economy.

According to the country’s business community, Dubai’s fiscal strategy allowed the country’s local businesses to deal effectively with several short-term challenges brought about by the recent global economic slowdown.

The group of corporate executives has also compared the 2009 budget with the country’s fiscal strategy for 2008. Dubai’s 2008 budget was well managed and had boosted the country’s government revenues by 30%. As observed, a large bulk of Dubai’s total revenue for 2008 came from government investments in the UAE and abroad.

As for Dubai’s 2009 budget, a large part was allocated for the liquidity of infrastructure, market, and services. For 2009, one of the main priorities for Dubai was to drive more money into its market in order to attain stability in that area.

With their stringent measures to reduce their emissions, the eight companies are reducing a total of around 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.

According to Lisa P. Jackson, the current administrator of EPA, the efforts made by these responsible climate leaders emphasize the fact that the environment’s condition does not need to be compromised in order to attain economic progress. Lisa Jackson adds that these companies are doing their part to prevent the negative effects of climate change and at the same time empowering their consumers to support the environment by making more responsible choices.

The companies who have achieved their long term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions include the following:

• Coors Brewing Company
• Anheuser-Bush Companies, Inc
• Bank of America Corp
• Eastman Kodak Company
• First Environment Inc
• Shaklee Corp
• Roche Group US
• Gap Inc

Asia’s fast-paced leadership development has taken over the international market. According to recent studies, several corporate organizations particularly in the Asia Pacific region have surpassed the abilities of American and European companies to produce business leaders. Although America and Europe still excel in producing world class business leaders, the companies in the Asian region have gotten better throughout the past years. In addition, the studies have also shown India to have the fastest progress within Asia.

The RBL Group along with the Hewitt publishing company makes a regular list of the world’s Top Companies for Leaders. The companies are selected through a process wherein several HR executives from all over the world are invited to take part in the study.

Each company is required to fill a detailed 88-item questionnaire. After the questionnaires are completed, the data goes through a panel of judges composed of authors, judges, academics, and journalists from several countries. Once the data is in their hands, the panel of judges then ranks the companies according to their region.

Several companies are invited to take part in the process. During the previous year, more than 500 companies from different regions in the world have participated through invitation.

This initiative was establish in order to help address the current issues regarding climate change. In September 2009, this group of environment-concerned companies launched their first communiqué during a meeting with Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

The group’s main mission is to work together in order to initiate the step-change in policy as well as to start steps necessary to reduce the scale of possible damage that comes with global change. Aside from that, this group of Irish corporate leaders also intends to secure their grip on business opportunities that come as a result of shifting to a low climate risk economy.

The group aims to make use of its position in the corporate world in order to influence as well as to work with both the government as well as the consumers in coming up with a plan that would make a sustainable, low-carbon society possible.

After hearing the group’s communiqué, the director of Friends of the Earth, Oisín Coghlan, said, “For too long the voices of business that were heard on climate change policy were those saying ‘not this, not us or not now’. What’s so good about the Irish Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change is that here is a group of business leaders saying ‘yes this, yes us and yes now.”

By focusing more on creating a knowledge-based corporate environment instead of sticking to the traditional industrial age model, the corporate world has initiated the need to employ a people-centric type of model in order to maintain the loyalty of customers as well as good relations with employees.

According to Franklin Covey’s findings, less than 20% of employees in various companies are aware of the company’s goals. Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the company itself to reiterate their main goals and strategies among its employees.

Several Indian blue chip companies such as Mahindra and Mahindra have adopted a new corporate model known as the “Execution Practice.” The company, which has adopted the new corporate model since the recessionary period, is starting to reap the benefits of the practice.

Aside from implementing the new model, the Indian company also has an advantage due to its region’s large pool of human resources. Apart from having a large pool of highly qualified people, the country’s inclusion of women in its corporate world has given it a general advantage in the field.

The jewelry company, which is known for its iconic blue boxes, saw a remarkable increase in sales last year as people demanded more of their luxury goods for the holiday season. Despite revenue being down last year, the firm’s profits increased. In fact, its profit in the fourth quarter grew more than four times, a fact that exceeded the company’s expectations.

From $4.7 million in the previous year, Kowalski’s salary increased up to $7.9 million, even though demand dramatically dropped in 2008, which caused fears of the end of luxury spending.

After not receiving an award in 2008, Kowalski earned a $2 million cash incentive award in 2009. While his base salary lessened just slightly (3.9%), his stock awards went up by 16% and became $1.6 million.

Additionally, the value of his retirement compensation and pension multiplied threefold.

Tiffany & Co. has been around for several decades, providing jewelry and silverware to different countries all over the world. The company started selling stationary items and is now one of the most recognized luxury item companies in the world.

A Singapore partner, David Ryan will share his new position with Mark Machin, who is based in Beijing. Sinha, who will retire in June, will end his work as a partner and will become an advisory director after his retirement.

Headquartered in New York, Goldman Sachs was one of the biggest share sales arrangers in the region from 2002 to 2006. As for mergers and acquisitions, the company claimed the number one spot this 2010 in Asia, excluding Japan, up from the sixth spot in 2009. Goldman also climbed a couple of notches in the list of banks that arranges US, euro and yen-dominated bond sales, from being ranked 10th last year to being eighth this year.

David Ryan, 40, entered the investment banking component of Goldman in 1992 and led the financing group in Asia, starting from 2005 up to 2007. In 2008, he moved to Singapore when he became Southeast Asia chairman, a role he will keep in addition to the new title.

However, as we have all seen from all the news coverage, the real estate industry is in a tight position at present. With values of property and land dropping, even Donald Trump’s real estate firm became one of the many companies that filed for bankruptcy. These companies found it difficult to get competitive financing and sell property that could provide a considerable profit to the home seller.

Consequently, Donald Trump’s real estate company went bankrupt. Since it was a corporate bankruptcy petition, it was filed under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code of the United States, which meant Donald Trump still has his individual assets safe and protected.

Although it may seem that Donald Trump’s company is in dire straits, this is not the first time it filed for bankruptcy. The company also filed for bankruptcy during the recession that occurred around the early 1990s. Eventually, however, the firm rose from the recession and Donald Trump increasingly became known as one of the richest Americans.

Donald Trump and his company are proof that anyone can fall into bad times because of uncontrolled circumstances; however, people must understand that bankruptcy does not signal the end of the road for firms belonging to any industry.