Final Case: Robin Hood

The first year Robin Hood has successfully forged the group into a disciplined band, [with the]
organization [set up being] simple (Lampel, 1991, C-300). The organizational structure of the group that
Robin Hood formed is a typical top-down management style, Robin ruled supreme, making all important
decisions. He delegated specific tasks to his lieutenants. Will Scarlett in charge intelligence and scouting.
Little John kept discipline (Lampel, 1991, C-300) and took care of archery training. Scarlock took care
of the finances and Much had the difficult task of provisioning the ever increasing band of Merry Men
(Lampel, 1991, C-300). While the bands increase in number was a source of satisfaction for Robin,
[was] also a source of concern (Lampel, 1991, C-300).

Group Problems

The main problem is the growth of the band and while Robin hoped that strength was in having a
large number of members. With Robin not being more selective in his recruitment process he has caused
problems with not knowing who his men are which makes rule enforcement and discipline harder to
obtain in the group. The growth of the band is beginning to exceed the food capacity of the forest and
supplies had to be obtained from outlying villages. The cost of buying food was beginning to drain the
bands financial reserves [while their] revenues were in decline (Lampel, 1991, C-300). Along with a
decline in resources with the increased size of the group Travelers, with the most to lose (Lampel, 1991,
C-300) were now avoiding going too close to the forest, which has reduced the group to robbing poorer
travelers.

New Mission

The group was formed from Robins personal conflict with the Sheriff and his administration
and the Merry Mens famous motto: Rob the rich and give to the poor (Lampel, 1991, C-300) has
become the core for the group. While initially this motto has served the group well with the new larger
size of the group this core mission statement of Rob the rich and give to the poor (Lampel, 1991, C-
300) has to be either be revised to accommodate the new larger group or the structure of the group will
need to be changed to continue to meet this motto.

If the groups objective is still a part of Robins grudge against the Sheriff than displacing the
Sheriff should be one of the groups main goals. In addition the group has to stay focused on their long
term goal to remove Prince John from power. While to organizations structure was great to start off with
changes must be made in order to better serve the growing needs of the group.
Porter Five Forces Model

(HubPages, 2013, 5).

The two main threats the group faces are competitive rivals and threats to supplies. The Sheriff
and his support pose a threat to the operations of the Merry Men. The Sheriff was growing stronger and
becoming better organized. He now had the money and the men and was beginning to harass the band,
probing for its weaknesses (Lampel, 1991, C-300). Supplies are at a high level of being threated since
those who are providing supplies to the group could be captured and punished by the Sheriff and his
support which would cause an even bigger strain on the supply chain. The bargaining power of suppliers
is high for Robin Hood and his group since they are all willing to live outside the law which caused a
level of threat for his suppliers who are enabling him to continue his illegal operations.

A threat from buyers is very low since Robins group gives to the poor and they have no reason to
threaten the group as long as Robin does not tax them. The chances of new entry are very low since the
group is participating in illegal activities and because of the size of the group new individuals would
likely to join rather than oppose such a large group. The threat of substitute products is not even a threat
since the residents of Sherwood Forest are the people that the group is helping out.
SWOT Analysis

(Christina Cecil, 2015)

Strengths

The huge number of members in the group has given Robin a way to combat the Sheriffs
administration. With the fame of his Merry Men spreading, and new recruits were pouring in
from every corner of England (Lampel, 1991, C-300) Robins group has grown significantly.

The group also has strong leadership in Robin and a strong management team including Will
Scarlett in charge of intelligence and scouting, Little John in charge of discipline and archery
training, Scarlock who oversees the finances, and Much responsible for provisions (Lampel,
1991, C-300).

The group has brand recognition with the fame of [Robins] Merry Men because of this new
recruits are easy to come by and they are well known in the community.

Weaknesses

Due to a lack of structure in the organization which has led to vigilance declining and discipline
becoming harder to enforce (Lampel, 1991, C-300).
 Supplies being depleted and revenues declining since travelers, especially those with more to
lose, were now giving the forest a wide berth (Lampel, 1991, C-300).

Possibility of Spies infiltrating the group since Robin has stated I dont know half of the men I
runthese days (Lampel, 1991, C-300).

The Sheriff not only has his own organization but he has the support of Prince John and other
powerful friends at court (Lampel, 1991, C-301).

Robins recruitment process for the Merry Men is a weakness. At first, he sought allies, men
with grievances and a deep sense of justice. Later he welcomed all who came, asking few
questions and demanding only a willingness to serve (Lampel, 1991, C-300) this has caused
problems in the group.

Opportunities

Join the plot to get King Richard out of prison in return for future amnesty (Lampel, 1991, C-
300) by doing this it would also solve the problem with the Sheriff.

Enforce a fixed transit tax to increase revenues even though it seems to be an unpopular choice
among his lieutenants.

Geographically expand the operations of the group to increase revenues.

Teach the men new skills such as growing additional food to help subsidize the lack of game
available in the forest.

Threats

The Sheriffs organization growing stronger and becoming better organized (Lampel, 1991, C-
300).

The size of the group makes it vulnerable to attacks and is causes resources to deplete.

With the size of group and Prince John [having] spies everywhere Lampel, 1991, C-301) a
chance of spies being in the group is a growing threat.

Little John is having issues in trying to maintaining discipline among the group because of the
groups new size has led to men milling about, talking and playing games (Lampel, 1991, C-
300) between raids.
 If Robin was to join the conspiracy and if the plan failed the pursuit would be relentless and
retributions swift (Lampel, 1991, C-301).

If Robin were to impose the transit tax the group could lose support.

Transition Tax Proposition

The idea of adopting a fixed transit tax to whomever passes though the Sherwood Forest seems
like a good idea however, his lieutenants strongly resisted this idea, arguing that the farmers and
townspeople are [their] most important allies. How can we tax them and still hope for their help in our
fight against the Sheriff? (Lampel, 1991, C-300). With the mission of the group being to both steal from
the rich to give to the poor and fight against the Sheriff then a transit tax should not be placed.

Why Not Kill the Sheriff?

While killing the Sheriff might satisfy [Robins] personal thirst for revenge, it would not
improve the situation (Lampel, 1991, C-301) and while this may have been the initial motive for forming
the Merry Men the group has since become its own entity. If the group was to kill the Sheriff there would
be no guarantee that Prince John would not put someone even worst in power in his place. Besides killing
the Sheriff does not help the group in getting King Richard released from prison.

Join the Conspiracy?

If Robin was to join forces with the Baron he would be guaranteed future amnesty. While it may
be a good idea there are many pros and cons to this mission. If Robin were to be a part of this dangerous
mission he would have to be even more careful since Prince John had spies everywhere and he was
known for his vindictiveness. If the conspirators plan failed the pursuit would be relentless and
retribution swift (Lampel, 1991, C-301).

Pros Cons

Once King Richard is back in power he could The mission is very dangerous and could be
address the needs and concerns of the people followed with swift retribution.
that have been ignored.

The Sheriff would likely be removed from power Robin in participating would be risking what
and would no longer be a threat to the group. the Merry Men stood for in their Rob the rich
and give to the poor (Lampel, 1991, C-300).

There would no longer need to steal from the The Baron could go against his word and not
 rich to give to the poor. keep his deal of giving Robin future amnesty.

Promised future amnesty for Robins help. The Merry Men would no longer have a
purpose in stealing and would have to either
disband or re-think their strategy.

(Christina Cecil, 2015).

In this chart the cons outweigh the pros and in the best interest of the organization Robin would
be better off not joining the mission but possibly helping to raise the funds needed to pay the
ransom in helping get King Richard out of jail in Austria (Lampel, 1991, C-301).

Geographical Expansion

With the expansion of the encampment it has now become a target for attacks from the Sheriff.
Decentralization is a type of organizational structure in which daily operations and decision-making
responsibilities are delegated by top management to middle and lower-level mangers within the
organization, allowing top management to focus more on major decisions (Joseph, 2015, 1). By
recruiting more qualified leaders to help decentralized the group with a central location operation where
intelligence gathering and finances would be kept. The rest of the group could then be divided into sub-
bands that will operate in smaller regions around Sherwood Forest. This would allow Robin to better
coordinate movement within the group and can facilitate the process of expansion (Joseph, 2015, 6).
This also reduces the chance of attack since the band will be split up into smaller groups all working
together. This decentralization of the group would also eliminate the issues with food distribution. With
this change in the organization Robin must also be aware of the problems that can occur because of
extended communication and must make sure that his leaders are all actively involved in the plans for
group and the new group structure.

Action Plan Recommendations & Implementation

Decentralization of the organization is something that needs to be done. Robin also needs to
appoint some of his men to do scanning of the new recruitments and go back to the original goal of
finding men with grievances and a deep sense of justice (Lampel, 1991, C-300) by establishing this and
other guidelines such as recruiting new members with farming skills. The group will be better able to
control the growth of the organization as well as better protect against spies being able to get into the
group.
 In dealing with the issue of a lack of a discipline in the group and increase in training and leaders
what will conduct training and enforce discipline is something that is needed and can be addressed with
decentralization of the organization. Since there are other issues with wealthy travelers avoiding going
through the forest Robin could have a group set up and trained specifically for raids that will seek out
alternative routes that wealthy travelers may take. This group that is specifically designed for raids would
need to work closely with the Will Scarlet and anyone else that becomes appointed to intelligence gather.
This is important in that it will allow this section of the group to know where best to conduct the raids and
will give them the upper hand in knowing what moves the Sheriff is making.

By combining efforts to fix the issues with training, recruitment, discipline, and concentrated size
of the group. Decentralization of the group would help in these areas and allow Robin to better organize
and maintain the groups growth. With breaking up the group into smaller groups with one core central
location operation in Sherwood Forest training issues and discipline needs will all be meet and the group
will be better able to defend against attacks from the Sheriff and his men.
 References

Cecil, C. (2015, Oct. 21). SWOT Analysis Chart. Created using PowerPoint Presentation Program. Case
Study Robin Hood, 1-8.

Cecil, C. (2015, Oct. 21). Pros and Cons Table. Created using Word Document. Case Study Robin Hood,
1-8.

HubPort.com. (2013, Sept. 27). Michael Porters Five Forces Model For Competitive and Strategic
Analysis of any Industry. Retrieved from
http://dommcg.hubpages.com/hub/Porters-Five-Forces-Model-For-Competitive-Analysis

Joseph, C. (2015). The Advantages of a Decentralized Organizational Structure. Hearst Newspapers,

LLC. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-decentralized-organizational-
structure-603.html

Lampel, J. (1991). Robin Hood. In Thompson, et al. (19th ed.). Crafting & Executing Strategy (p. C300-
C301). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.