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Case Analysis: Robin Hood-by Joseph Lampel New York University
Deanna Phillips
Warren National University
CAPB 490
BS Business Marketing
August 14, 2007
Introduction and Mission
Robin Hood and his Band of Merry Men had a successful first year. With new recruits pouring in from the furthest outreaches of England, Robin had met his objective of strengthening in number. Although he was satisfied with the size of the organization, he has realized necessary preparations had not been made to accommodate the now over abundance of members of his organization. Many challenges now face Robin such as a lack of provisions and lack of funds to support the band, but he cannot lose focus of their original foundation of “Robbing from the rich and giving to the poor”. In addition they have to stay focused on their long term goal to remove Prince John from power by freeing King Richard from his imprisonment in Austria. Robin Hood has to form structure within his organization so that it can continue to grow and prosper.
External Analysis
Following are opportunities:
A fixed transit tax could be implemented to immediately increase revenues.
Accept the invitation from the Barons to join them in their quest to collect the ransom that would release King Richard the Lionhearted from his jail in Austria in return for Robins future amnesty. The Barons assistance would alleviate problems concerning provisions.
Expansion of the operation to geographical areas to the north, south, east and west of Sherwood Forest for an opportunity to create new avenues of revenue.
The Merry Men could kill the sheriff therefore ending his reign of Nottingham.
An immediate downsizing of the manpower of the band would solve the issue of additional expenses due to the ever increasing size of the band.
He could explore new means in which to create revenue other than a transit tax which seems an unpopular choice and the current means of robbing rich merchants as they travel through Sherwood Forest.
The men could be taught to grow additional fruits and vegetables in the forest to help subsidize the lack of game available in the forest.
Following are threats:
The rich merchants who once traveled through Sherwood Forest are now taking alternate routes to avoid it. Although this incurs additional costs upon the merchants it eliminates the threat of having their entire shipment confiscated by The Band of Merry Men. The reduction in traffic in the route results in a loss of revenue for the organization.
Though Robins band is growing at an uncontrollable rate, the sheriffs forces are becoming stronger and more organized.
The ever growing size of the band is making it a challenge to conceal their whereabouts within the Sherwood Forest making it easier for the Sheriffs forces to attack.
The rapid growth rate of Robins organization is deplenishing the provisions available to them within the forest. Continuing to go to the outlying villages for supplies is not an option because with each occurrence their chance of being spotted and followed back to their hiding place within the forest by the Sheriffs men increases dramatically.
As Robin himself stated, there are so many men in his group now that he can hardly recognize half of them. With the great number of spies loyal to Prince John this was an ever growing threat.
Little John is having difficulty maintaining discipline within the ranks because there are so many men now that he is in charge of overseeing. This is too difficult a task for one person which leads to the men slacking off and playing games in downtime instead of hunting for food or concentrating on their training.
If Robin was to accept the Barons invitation to join in their crusade and it failed he could cause himself and all of his men to suffer consequences in the courts.
If a transit tax is implemented Robin could lose the backing of the local farmers and village people.
Internal Analysis
Following are strengths:
A strong team of managers 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.
The group has a strong leader in Robin and the farmers and townspeople are loyal to him.
Robins Band of Merry Men is established after being in business for a year now.
The men are highly skilled in archery.
Robin Hood has gained strength in numbers. His band is constantly increasing with men traveling from all over England to join.
Following are weaknesses:
The food and supplies in the forest are being depleted at a rapid rate caused by the continuous growth of the group of men.
It is becoming difficult to prevent the band from being infiltrated by spies because Robin could not recognize half of the men anymore.
The sheriff has the support of Prince John.
The organization is growing in size, but the revenues are declining.
Strategic issues:
The band cannot continue to rely solely on robbing from rich merchants who commute through the Sherwood Forest. This is simply not meeting their financial needs and cannot support the growing organization.
An application process has to be put in place in order for new members to be accepted.
It would be a good political move for Robin to at least show support in the efforts the Barons are making to