Transform gizmo far away from object when moving

[kgg333]

I wasnt sure how to word that title.
Basically I find that with some objects the transform gizmo(with the arrows etc) is far far removed from the object itself whether i rotate, scale or move. I tried adjusting "world" "local" etc but it didnt help. I have been duplicating alot of objects so i figure it must have something to do with that--in some cases I have moved the object I want to copy up to the 0 0 0 origin and duplicated it there--that seemed to solve the problem, but I have other objects where it wont work. So when I rotate an object it moves along an axis out of whack with the center of the object.
Anyway of correcting this or recloning the object to solve the problem?

[failure]

First of all the correct maya terminology is 'manipulator' not 'gizmo'. The transform manipulators always appear at the object's pivot. You can move pivot; press 'insert' key (on keyboard) and move the pivot to desired position. Press 'insert' again to return to normal mode.
Or you can quick-center the pivot by Modify->Center Pivot

[kgg333]

Thanks!

and sorry about the term confusion