Robin Hood Case (Essay)

What Should Robin Hood Do?

There are several issues Robin Hood needs to consider. First, Robin Hood needs to make sure his own personal grievances against
the Sheriff do not cloud his vision and what is in the best interest of his Merrymen as a group. Second, take a broad look at the
overall organizational structure by conducting an environmental scan, a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)
analysis and/or using a variety of organizational assessments (measurements). A SWOT analysis will help determine some strategic
alternatives and how the band can attempt to fulfill its mission and achieve its goals. Robin Hood can use the SWOT analysis to
identify where he is strong and vulnerable, where he should defend and attack by scanning both internal and external environments
(McNamara, Performance Management, 1999).
An organization-wide change might include a change in mission, restructuring operations, rightsizing, and/or restructuring
personnel into self-managed cells, which is needed for this band to survive. As with most organizations, when any changes are
initiated there is generally resistance to accept changes and disagreements on new management styles and purposes. The
organizational culture develops over time and may be resistant to change because of the persistent nature of how things have
normally been done within the band. Robin Hood must consider whether to change their policy of outright confiscation of goods
and institute a fixed transit tax (shift to a new business purpose) (McNamara, Basic Context for Organizational Change, 1999). His
lieutenants strongly object and do not want to change the Merrymens famous motto, or tax the farmers and the townspeople
that support their fight against the Sheriff (Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, 2005). Also, should Robin Hood accept the offer to
merge with the Barons to fight the competition (Sheriff) and secure King Richards release (personal communication, September
7, 2006).
Before jumping into any major organizational changes, issues will need to be worked out so the Merrymen are all oriented in the
same direction and remain united and unified in the way the band needs to operate. The fear of the unknown tends to cause
greater anxiety than the change itself. Generally, involving personnel (the Merrymen) is a core element process for personnel
empowerment to make them feel valued and important for team building. This will ensure Robin Hood gets as much feedback as he
can on what the Merrymen think the problems are and what should be done to resolve the bands issues (McNamara, Strategic
Planning,
1999).
Next, Robin Hood needs to plan and strategize on how to take care of his Merrymen and address the issues to handle the
overwhelming growth of new recruits. He is responsible for the training, health, morale, and safety of the band, as well as its well-
being. The rapid size increase of the band creates several different issues within itself that Robin Hood must deal with as well; (1
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depleting the forest resources for food and shelter causing the band to outgrow its present location; (2 how to increase revenues
and reduce cost; (3 find a new legitimate market for making revenues, because travelers avoid the forest for fear of being robbed;
(4 because of the large number of new recruits, security for the band must be increased to avoid detection and not give away their
exact location; (5 at least half of the men in Robin Hoods band are unfamiliar to him. He needs to know who they are or
remove unnecessary manpower and develop a strict and stringent way of determining who can become a band member; (6 Robin
Hoods leadership role with his Merrymen has changed from ruling supremely (referent and expert power) and making all the
decisions to a management role (legitimate, reward, coercive, and referent power) aligning his resources, enforcing discipline,
control, and maintaining the level of motivation in order for the Merrymen to believe in Robin Hoods vision for it to be
successful (Ambur, 2000).
Finally, with the growing size of the sheriffs forces of men, money, and improved organization, Robin Hood needs to plan a
strategy to win the fight (militarily as we as public perception and opinion) against the Sheriff, attack the Sheriff's strengths, and
overthrow Prince John to eliminate the Sheriffs source of authority over Nottingham and the common people (personal
communication, September 10, 2006).
What is the organization's mission (careful -- that may not be as obvious as it seems!)?
Robin Hoods original mission was revenge, to steal from the rich and give to the poor because of his personal grievances
against the Sheriff of Nottingham and his protection of an usurped administration (Prince John from King Richard). Prince John
taxed King Richards subjects into poverty and stole from them for his own personal gain (losing customer focus). Robin Hood
and his small disciplined group of Merrymen robbed from the tax collectors and other wealthy patricians traveling through the forest
and returned the money to the poor. Eventually Robin Hoods mission evolved to change the Nottingham administration by
fighting the oppression of a corrupt government and fighting for the poor maligned peasants (personal communication, September
10, 2006).
Do Robin and the Merrymen need a new mission, new vision or strategy?
Yes, Robin needs to change his strategy to fit the new organization structure by breaking down the band into smaller groups (cells)
and promote more lieutenants to reinforce the bands mission, vision, and strategies. Robin Hood needs to define the vision so
that all the Merrymen understand and accept the same vision as Robin Hood. Developing a strategic vision statement will help
guide the band to where they want to be in the future. Change the mission statement to represent his band and not just the
personal vendetta mission of one man. A mission statement describes what the bands basic function in society is in terms of
the products and the services it provides (Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, 2005). Even though Robin Hood and his Merrymen
steal from the rich, it is for a good cause to help the common people throw off the shackles of an oppressive government. Robin
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Hood needs to change the business strategy (how to get there) of the band and find new legal methods of making revenue to
support his movement against the Sheriff and the repressive administration of Prince John (personal communication, September 10,
2006).
What would YOU recommend?
First, develop a plan of action for specific business strategies that promote survival, prosperity, and predict future organizational
change requirements. Inadequate resources to fight the competition will become a reason for the Merrymen to fail. A new mission
statement that describes the bands basic function in society: rob from the rich and give to the poor to fight corruption and
inequality suffered under Prince Johns reign. Then conduct a SWOT analysis to determine strengths, weakness,
opportunities, and threats to create a plan of action (personal communication, September 15, 2006).
Strengths:
1. Charismatic adored leader (Robin Hood)
2. Rob from the rich and give to the poor
3. New recruits pouring in from every corner of England (Strength in Numbers)
4. Band member dedication striving for the cause
5. Timely and accurate intelligence provided by Scarlett
6. Constant surveillance which predicts and confirms the moves of the sheriff and his men
7. Collect travel plan information on the merchants and tax collectors
8. Little John managed discipline among the men and maintained their archery skills at high peak performance
9. Scarlock managed the finances and converted loot into cash and stashed surplus in secure locations
10. Much provided supplies, food, and other things required for the band of Merrymen
11. Support of the common people
Weaknesses:
1. Large size of the band
2. Lack of discipline and control
3. Leader unfamiliar with most of the men in the band
4. Decreased vigilance and lack of security
5. Lack of resources
6. Insufficient facilities (Forest)
7. Cost of food draining finances
8. Sherriff of Nottingham and Prince John are vicious, volatile, and tightly united
Opportunities:
1. Kill the character and credibility of the sheriff to marginalize him as Prince Johns representative while keeping the person
alive and in place in order to prevent Prince John from placing a more qualified individual in the position of Sheriff of Nottingham. A
more capable and better resourced person could conceivably defeat Robin Hood.
2. The return of King Richard to eliminate the Sherriffs and Prince Johns power base
3. Join the conspiracy in return for future amnesty
4. Reduce manpower to eliminate expenses
5. Initiate a new policy of a fixed transit tax providing financial gains for the band
6. Flexibility to move to another area to find possible sources of revenue (new or existing market)
7. Enlightened the Nottingham people about unlawful behavior of the Sheriff and Administration
8. Barons dispute of Prince Johns claim to the throne
Threats:
1. Sheriff grows more powerful and better organized day-by-day
2. Growing band depleted resources (food and finances)
3. Decrease in the vigilance among the band members
4. Hard to enforce and control discipline in the band members
5. Tax collectors and the merchants no longer traveled through the forests
6. New recruits may be Prince Johns spies
7. Detection of band location and get captured
(Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, 2005).
This analysis will allow Robin Hood to determine where the Merrymen stand compared to their competitors (Sheriff of
Nottingham/Administration) and where Robin Hood and the Merrymen will see themselves in the next few years. Robin Hood
should penetrate the existing market and direct Scarlett and Scarlock to find a more suitable new market where revenues will be
increased and the food reduced with a new source of supplies. Robin Hood should stop recruiting, remove unnecessary manpower
by forming an auxiliary support force which stands in reserve and does not create the same drain on resources a standing militia
does. He must also relocate smaller groups of men to other parts of the forest or another geographical location outside of
Nottingham. Smaller groups of men are easier to control and maintain discipline, allowing Robin Hood to broaden his cause outside
Nottingham to grow larger and stronger in conjunction with the sheriffs forces. When relocating his men, Robin Hood must
remember Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to satisfy hunger and thirst by securing a reliable source of food and other goods that are
essential for future survival (personal communication, September 15, 2006).
With a new business plan strategy in place, Robin should plan and execute a raid immediately on Prince John to eliminate the
Sheriffs authoritative power and prestige over the people of Nottingham. This would allow for the return of King Richard the
Lionheart. The longer Robin waits will only allow the Sheriff to increase his resources and collect more information on how to
eliminate or marginalize Robin as a leader and cause the Merrymen to disband (personal communication, September 10, 2006).
References
Ambur, O. (2000). Reconsidering the Higher-Order Legitimacy of French and Raven's Bases of
Social Power in the Information Age. Retrieved September 15, 2006 from http://mysite. verizon.net/ ambur/ French&Raven.htm.
University of Maryland University College, MD.
McNamara, C. (1999). Basic Context for Organizational Change. Retrieved September 10, 2006
from http://www.managementhelp.org/mgmnt/orgchnge.htm.
McNamara, C. (1999). Organizational Performance Management. Retrieved September 10, 2006
from http://www.managementhelp.org/org_perf/org_perf.htm.
McNamara, C. (1999). Strategic Planning (in nonprofit or for-profit organizations). Retrieved
September 10, 2006 from http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/ str_plan/ str_ plan.htm.
Thompson, A.A., Jr., Strickland, A.J. III and Gamble, J.E. (2005). Crafting and executing
strategy: The quest for competitive advantage. (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill/Irwin.


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NEW ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
CURRENT BUSINESS MODEL
Currently Robinhoods organisation is much unorganised. He is assisted by three people for the
functions and is certainly under employed. It is very evident that managing such a huge
organisation is getting difficult for him and there may be certain functions that are rejected due to
less supervisors and managers. There is not much of interaction between the various departments.
Robin Hoodneeds to change the organisational structure. He should change it to the below
mentioned structure and delegate responsibility in order to manage the bigger group that he now
commands.This will result in decentralisation of the control to some extent however, not to the
fullest level but to certain extent.
NEW ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
1. In order to meet the decreasing level of discipline and vigilance Robin hood needs to put the
recruitment process in order. A better way to do this is by recruiting supervisors and laying down HR
policies for recruitment. For eg. They could limit the age, family background. By doing this he shall
only get workers who are focussed and share the similar goal.
2. Appoint a food shelter and medical supervisor under his human resource manager. Food and
shelter supervisors will concentrate on sole responsibilities. The main role of food supervisor will be
to constantly look for newer and cheaper sources of food.
3. Device a spy/Vigilance division under the operation manager to built a fleet of spies and deploythem around the
sheriffs office. The job should encompass the cross verification of the details ofnew recruits.
4. If we look at the Ansoffs Matrix then that would give an alternative approach
The Third (3rd) gives the following possible Alternatives

Robinhood can levy regular or fixed taxed on the merchants who pass by their territory. This
would be regular tax. Levying regular tax shall act a constant source of income. Also, the
merchants can be informed that they will not be looted in case they adhere to the tax
policies. They will be rather protected in Robin Hoods Territory. This shall be a win-win
situation for both as Robinhood shall get regular income and merchandisers dont have to
worry about getting looted in forest and can concentrate on other issues.

He should encourage a villager (Someone not from his group and quite popular) to become
his spokesperson and representative in the kingdom.

He should ask people to participate in the King Richards rescue mission.
The 4th Quadrant gives this alternative:

Robinhood should not recruit new men in his group and should rather diversify. He should
provide his men with funds and support to become merchants and trader. The group thus
formed should be supported and hence they can use their power to threat other merchants
as well as the prince.

He should bond and increase his relationship with the farmers. Instead new recruitment
should be done from among the farmers as it shall serve as a strong economic backup and
also as a abundant supply of cheap food.

He should try to get people from princes court on his payroll. Acting as a spy and thusletting him know of any new
strategy prince is formulating or any new business that heindulges to get in. At the same time Robinhood needs to be
ready to diversify into newbusiness in case, he get to know about it.
5. Enforce discipline by practising it.