"How-leaders-drive-workforce-performance." Here is the scenario for your paper.

You have just been promoted to President & CEO of your publicly traded company. You've been longing for this opportunity since it became evident that the current President & CEO was losing the commitment of employees along with losing sales. Your first speech as President & CEO is in one week on September 23rd. Here are some of the issues you are facing that you want to talk about in your speech.

1. low employee morale & lack of employee engagement- There were layoffs 6 months ago and salaries have been "frozen" (no increases) for the past 14 months. However, business has begun picking up recently.

2. high turnover- you've lost some good performers and key technical people to your competition

3. static growth, even slight decreases in revenues over past 18 months- you must reverse that trend

4. several new products are coming on line in the next 6 months and they look like they will be winners

5. expenses are creeping higher- you must reverse that trend

Here's your task: Write the speech that you will give to employees about turning things around. Include your vision for the future and how you're going to get there. Be clear what you expect from employees and what they can expect from you. Outline your general plan, what strategies you will use to achieve your plan, and the first two actions you will take to get started. Lastly, you want to complete your speech in a positive manner that has employees jazzed about the new direction.

Don't make your plan too detailed, and don't worry about what industry (other than you are in manufacturing) or the size of the company. I'm looking for analytical thinking, inspiring leadership, and a general "game plan" that makes your employees interested in learning the details in the near future. Take into consideration what you know about strategic leadership, external and internal environments, values, missions and visions, and what you read in the article referenced above. Feel free to be creative but still realistic. I look forward to reading about your ideas on how to turn this ship around!