Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Publication
    Are CEOs Getting the Best from Corporate Functions?
    (MIT, 2012-03-20)
    Campbell, Andrew
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    At too many large companies, corporate functions like HR and IT don't get enough strategic direction from the CEO. Four basic steps can help. Few CEOs give enough direction to the heads of their corporate-level functions. That's the conclusion of a survey we conducted of more than 50 function heads at some of Europe's leading companies. We are referring here to larger companies in which corporate-level functions such as finance, human resources, information technology, strategy, purchasing and legal provide policies, controls and services to decentralized operating divisions. Fortunately, some CEOs have found ways to address the problem. In our survey, fewer than one in 10 function heads felt they had received sufficient guidance on how their function should contribute to the company's overall strategy. Instead, they were expected to develop their own ideas and functional strategies.
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  • Publication
    Housekeeping at Corporate Headquarters: International Trends in Optimizing the Size and Scope of Corporate Headquarters
    (University of St.Gallen/Harvard Business School, 2012) ; ;
    Collis, David J.
    Survey Report - Purpose: This international guide on changes at CHQ provides data and insights on changes in CHQ design over a four-year time period (2007-2010), as well as on the status quo of recent CHQ design and effectiveness (2010). Surveys: The guide is based on large-scale surveys of 761 of the largest corporations in 21 countries in North America and Europe. The overall company-level response rate accounting for 28.4 % of the sample indicates a large interest in changes at CHQ. Key findings: The surveys indicate an overall trend towards stronger CHQ - in contrast to the more prominent cases of CHQ cutbacks frequently published in the business press. Many companies have tightened the reins of CHQ and increased CHQ influence over divisional decisions.