Assignment #4 Writing a Negative Message About Mountain States Lamb Cooperative- 50pts Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to stimulate your active learning as it relates to writing a negative company communication to cooperative members and the general public. Assignment: You are the President of Mountain States Lamb Cooperative (MSLC), Mr. Brad Boner, and you must now write a public message informing your members and the public that Mountain States Lamb Cooperative will be shutting down its Mountain States Rosen Plant and filing for bankruptcy (see the attached readings with facts and timing of the purchase and bankruptcy). You hoped a purchase by another company would allow MSLC to pay CoBank and avoid bankruptcy, but the deal did not go through after JBS chose not to continue its agreement to share wastewater treatment and steam to the potential owner. Your average cooperative member paid $22/share for class A shares, and for each share the member agreed to supply one market ready slaughter lamb per share (see Boland et al., 2007). The average cooperative member had 2,000 lambs and purchased enough shares to market 80 percent of their lambs through the cooperative. As part of your message, you must inform your members that all proceeds from the sale of the Mountain States Rosen plant will be used to pay off existing debt. Apply the concepts discussed in class regarding business messages. Write this message using an indirect approach. Upload your completed draft to WyoCourses by the due date. GRADING CRITERIA: I will assign the 50 points based on the following grading criteria: 1. Readability: (Organization, proper format, good grammar, proper spelling, proper tone, and voice). 25 pts. 2. Quality of Content: Appropriateness of content given situation and outlet. 25 pts. Reference Boland, M. A., A. Bosse, and G. W. Brester. 2007. The Mountain States Lamb Cooperative: Can Vertical Integration Keep Lamb Producers from Being Fleeced? Review of Agricultural Economics. 29,1: 157-169.