Running head: ROBIN HOOD

Robin Hood Case Study

Growing up, children have been told the tale of Robin Hood and his merry men stealing from the rich and giving to the poor as an attempt to right the injustices of oppressing the poor in the village of Nottingham. However, the difficulties that Robin Hood faced when carrying out his mission were never touched upon. Viewing Robin Hood and his merry men as a corporation will aid in the illustration of the problems facing the group and determining the appropriate solution needed to solve these problems. Robin Hood essentially was running a corporation with a constant growing workforce and supply versus demand had changed drastically over the first year of operations. Robin Hood was the Chief Operating Officer with four lieutenants (Will Scarlett, Little John, Scarlock, and Much) serving as his managerial staff. The organization was divided into four areas of operations: intelligence/scouting, discipline, finances, and distribution of provisions. This system was working quite well over the first year; however, as of late Robin Hood found he was facing a multitude of organizational problems he needed to solve. The open door policy that Robin Hood had originally put into place afforded a substantial growth of his organization and as a result all four areas of operational effectiveness were dramatically decreased. In the beginning stage of the Robin Hood’s organization every member was a well-disciplined member of the team. As the organization grew it became increasingly difficult for Lieutenant Little John to uphold the standards of discipline. During their downtime, the men developed a lax attitude and were often found playing games, evidence of the group losing sight of organizational goals. The additional surge of men provided it more challenging to enforce discipline among the group. Providing sustenance for the group was also challenging due to firm’s exceeding their food capacity. As a result, their supplies had to be purchased from outlying villages and game was become scarce in the forest. Purchasing supplies, in turn, drained their finances and the number of people traveling through the forest had drastically decreased due to their popularity. Robin Hood believed their policy of confiscation should be altered in response the changing climate. Robin Hood wanted to move away from confiscation of the traveler’s goods to a fixed traveling tax for anyone entering the forest. However, Robin Hood was met with heavy criticism from his management team who took pride in “stealing from the rich and giving to the poor”. The team also believed they should alienate their allies, the farmers and townspeople, by taxing them as well. Robin Hood had been approached by barons, offering to allow him to join their cause of raising the prior king’s ransom and removing the current king in exchange for future amnesty for the barons. There was no guarantee their plan would succeed and while the current king was vicious, the plan to overthrow him does not align with Robin Hood’s objectives. Robin Hood’s vision was one of creating a system to correct the injustice of the tax system that was conducted in the Nottingham. The High Sherriff of Nottingham and his administration were consistently guilty of overtaxing the poor citizens. In order to stage an insurrection against the sheriff, Robin Hood and his merry men took the gold and supplies from wealthy travelers and tax collectors entering the forest. Robin Hood’s organization then would redistribute the spoils among the poor in Nottingham making up for the skewed tax collection system in place. Robin Hood’s organizational competitive advantage was in the form of a monopoly, as they were the only ones operating in the Sherwood Forrest. The five forces model illustrates the positive position of Robin Hood’s organization. The threat of new entrants into the Sherwood Forest is highly unlikely due to the dominant forces already present. The buyers, the farmers and townspeople, are entirely dependent on Robin Hood’s organization; therefore, it is unlikely they will attempt to utilize any bargaining leverage by a threat of substitutes. While the organization does have an advantage with the other forces in their industry, they are highly dependent upon the suppliers. The suppliers are impacting the effectiveness of Robin Hood’s organization by avoiding the forest. The quantity of travelers through the Sherwood Forest is dwindling as word of mouth has spread about the robberies of travelers. Therefore, travelers feel as if they are being inconvenienced avoiding the forest but, are willing to employ this measure to avoid being robbed. Robin Hood’s organization is pursuing a focus strategy; evident by the lack of entrants in their industry, low buyer power, high supplier power, no threat of substitutes, and a lack of rivals gaining their competitive advantage Robin Hood should concentrate on his organizational issues and explain to the bishops that he is in no position to join their crusade. However, if their plight is successful, a change in the tax system that would keep the organization from guarding the forest and robbing the travelers who are passing through. In order for Robin Hood’s organization to retain their power and effectiveness of their mission, it is crucial to first address the growth and of the organization. The open door policy in no longer working in their favor so, going forward it is necessary to benchmark performance or skills as a condition of joining the organization. Outstanding skill or knowledge of in archery and farming should be a condition of acceptance into Robin Hood’s organization. Skill and knowledge of farming will aid the organization in providing sustenance for the members of the organization. Additionally, the organization may need to barter their services in order to procure needed supplies. These recommendations will provide an innovative solution to their food and supply shortage. The next organizational issue to address is the men verse lieutenant ratio as the group was effectively managed when the ratio was smaller. Therefore, it is crucial to appoint additional managers in the four core areas. This will aid in the ability to keep the men vigilant and discipline at appropriate levels. It may be necessary to banish the members of the organization who do not meet discipline and performance benchmarks determined by their superior leaders. The solution to the financial difficulties may lie in a trial and error options for the organization. Robin Hood and his lieutenants should consider additional locations before the implementation of a straight passage tax. Robin Hood’s organization has been left with few options since the suppliers are avoiding Sherwood Forest; therefore, it has become necessary to consider other locations before implementing a tax for passage by their allies. The organizational issues faced by Robin Hood’s organization can be resolved by following the recommendations outlined. Once the functional areas of operational issues have been addressed, the group has the potential to continue their growth at a level that will achieve their end result; bringing about change in the tax system of Nottingham.