Robin Hood Case

Robin Hood Case

1. What problems/issues does Robin Hood need to address? Indicate THE PROBLEM most critical to the success or failure of his strategy. Explain why.

• Robin Hood’s band of Merrymen is growing too large to be supported by the local region.

• The sheriff of Nottingham is growing stronger and becoming better organized

• The Merrymen’s vigilance is in decline and discipline is hard to enforce

• Revenues are in decline because travelers are avoiding the forest.

o This is the major problem that Robin Hood needs to overcome. If Robin Hood cannot steal the rich people’s money, he has nothing to give to the poor. Also, with no money, Mr. Hood will not be able to outfit his group of Merrymen, and they will become weaker and weaker…making themselves susceptible to attacks from the Sheriff.

2. What are the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? Weight each of these factors on a scale of .1 (low) to .9 (high) in terms of its potential to affect the success or failure of the vision, mission, or objectives.

Strengths

• There are large numbers of merrymen. (.7)

• New recruits are pouring in. (.7)

• The men are united in their enmity against the Sheriff. (.9)

Weaknesses

• The merrymen are slacking off and becoming complacent. (.8)

• The band is so large that Robin doesn’t know everyone. (.6)

• Financial reserves are at an all-time low. (.9)

Opportunities

• Potential alliance with the barons in Nottingham. (.4)

• King Richard might be on his way back to Nottingham. (.8)

Threats

• The Sheriff is growing stronger. (.8)

• The “Rich” are avoiding his section of the forest. (.9)

3. What is the current vision, mission, objectives, and strategy of Robin Hood and the Merry men? Do they need a new mission? New objectives? A new strategy?

• The vision of Robin Hood and the Merrymen is to have a kingdom with an honorable king who treats everyone fairly.

• The current mission of Robin Hood and the Merrymen is to utilize a group of disciplined men to overthrow the current leadership in Nottingham because of their tyranny and oppression of the poor. They want to return unfairly taken taxes to the peasants of NottinghamвЂ"to “rob from the rich and give to the poor.”

• The current objectives of Robin Hood and the Merrymen are to steal as much as they can from the rich as soon as possible, and to make Nottingham so unsafe that the Sheriff will be removed from his office due to his incompetence.

• The current strategy to accomplish the objectives is to use sneak attacks on rich individuals who travel through the forest.

Although the vision and mission are on target, several changes need to be made to the objectives and the strategy to accomplish those objectives. Robin Hood needs to react to the stimuli created by his external environment and target: the rich people. Since the rich people are no longer passing through the forest, Robin Hood is simply going to have to find a different way to take their money.

4. Is continuing with the present strategy (unmodified) an option or is the present strategy obsolete? Explain. List at least FOUR strategic alternatives to the current strategy along with a pro and a con for each.

The present strategy is obsolete. It no longer makes sense to simply prey on rich travelers in the Sherwood Forest because the travelers have found another way to get to Nottingham. If there are no rich travelers in the forest, Robin Hood and his growing group of Merrymen will not have a sufficient revenue stream with which to both support themselves and also give money to the poor peasants.

Four strategic alternatives to the current strategy: