Organizing for Global Competitiveness

Corporate headquarters (CHQ) has been termed the “leadership engine” of a business. With its unique position of oversight and authority, a CHQ is able to develop and direct initiatives to find opportunities, and to identify them when they appear. It is also responsible for leveraging company resources across organizational and geographical boundaries. In recent years, however, many corporations have moved toward a management model characterized by decentralization, empowerment, and the devolution of the business into self-governing entities. This report delineates the
changing role of CHQ and provides a framework for leading successful integration initiatives.