Case Study on "Robin Hood"

Quoted Instructions for "Robin Hood" Assignment:

Here is the assignment:

Complete a ten-page (double-spaced) response to the "Robin Hood" case. Students will have to apply textbook concepts to analyze the Robin Hood case. As in real-life most business and management issues do not have questions for senior managers to just answer. Most decisions involve applying information, policies, and sources to resolve mighty complex issues. Please ensure you use at least five citations from either or both textbooks to support your discussion and reflections.

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Robin Hood CASE STUDY by Joseph Lampel, New York University

It was in the spring of the second year of his insurrection against the High Sheriff of Nottingham that Robin Hood took a walk in Sherwood Forest. As he walked he pondered the progress of the campaign, the disposition of his forces, the Sheriffs recent moves, and the options that confronted him.

The revolt against the Sheriff had begun as a personal crusade. It erupted out of Robin's conflict with the Sheriff and his administration. However, alone Robin Hood could do little. He therefore sought allies, men with grievances and a deep sense of justice. Later he welcomed all that came, asking few questions and demanding only a willingness to serve. Strength, he believed, lay in numbers.

He spent the first year forging the group into a disciplined band, united in enmity against the Sheriff, and willing to live outside the law. The bank’s organization was simple. Robin ruled supreme, making all-important decisions. He delegated specific tasks to his lieutenants. Will Scarlett was in charge of intelligence and scouting. His main job was to shadow the Sheriff and his men, always alert to their next move. He also collected information on the travel plans of rich merchants and tax collectors. Little John kept discipline among the men and saw to it that their archery was at the high peak that their profession demanded. Scarlock took care of the finances, converting loot to cash, paying shares of the take, and finding suitable hiding places for the surplus. Finally, Much, the Miller's son had the difficult task of provisioning the ever increasing band of Merrymen.

The increasing size of the band was a source of satisfaction for Robin, but also a source of concern. The fame of his Merrymen was spreading, and new recruits poured in from every corner of England. As the band grew larger, their small bivouac became a major encampment. Between raids the men milled about, talking and playing games. Vigilance was in decline, and discipline was becoming harder to enforce. "Why," Robin reflected, "I don't know half the men I run into these days."

The growing band was also beginning to exceed the food capacity of the forest. Game was becoming scarce, and supplies had to be obtained from outlying villages. The cost of buying food was beginning to drain the bank’s financial reserves at the very moment when revenues were in decline. Travelers, especially those with the most to lose, were now giving the forest a wide birth. This was costly and inconvenient to them, but it was preferable to having all their goods confiscated.

Robin believed that the time had come for the Merrymen to change their policy of outright confiscation of goods to one of a fixed transit tax. His lieutenants strongly resisted this idea. They were proud of the Merrymen’s famous motto: "Rob the rich to give to the poor." "The farmers and the townspeople," they argued, "are our most important allies." "How can we tax them, and still hope for their help in our fight against the Sheriff?"

Robin wondered how long the Merrymen could keep to the ways and methods of their early days. 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. The tide of events was beginning to turn against the Merrymen. Robin felt the campaign must be decisively concluded before the Sheriff had a chance to deliver a mortal blow. "But how," he wondered, "could this be done?"

Robin had often entertained the possibility of killing the Sheriff, but the chances for this seemed increasingly remote. Besides, killing the Sheriff might satisfy his personal thirst for revenge, but it would not improve the situation. Robin had hoped that the perpetual state of unrest, and the Sheriffs failure to collect taxes, would lead to his removal from office. Instead, the Sheriff used his political connections to obtain reinforcement. He had powerful friends at court and was well regarded by the regent, Prince John.

Prince John was vicious and volatile. He was consumed by his unpopularity among the people, who wanted the imprisoned King Richard back. He also lived in constant fear of the barons, who had first given him the regency but were now beginning to dispute his claim to the throne. Several of these barons had set out to collect the ransom that would release King Richard the Lionhearted from his jail in Austria. Robin was invited to join the conspiracy in return for future amnesty It was a dangerous proposition. Provincial banditry was one thing, court intrigue another. Prince John had spies everywhere, and he was known for his vindictiveness. If the conspirators' plan failed, the pursuit would be relentless and retributions swift.

The sound of the supper horn startled Robin from his thoughts. There was the smell of roasting venison in the air. Nothing was resolved or settled. Robin headed for camp promising himself that he would give these problems his utmost attention after tomorrow's raid.

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Here is how I would like the outline of the paper to be written:

1) Introduction – review the key issues

a. How to better organize his organization and who has what responsibilities

b. Generate more revenue, control costs, inventory of supplies

c. Should he join Price John in the conspiracy, kill the sheriff, or pay the ransom? Downsize the organization and go into a smaller area

2) How to better organize his organization and who has what responsibilities, gain control of organization

a. Develop clear leaders and captains of teams. Smaller teams, people working to full capacity.

b. Review and organize the role of the lieutenants

c. Create a more intense process for those wanting to join, so that you weed out the weak and only keep the hardcore.

d. Set up controls and discipline so that loyalty is tested.

e. Keep training and improving skills

3) How to generate revenue and control the inventory of goods and supplies

a. Start rationing supplies in the forest

b. With loyalty tested and more intense process, should be less people so more goods.

c. Develop a huge campaign that creates awareness to the need of financing and getting the king back, and then impose the fix transit tax. Stress the benefits compared to the outfight confiscation of goods.

d. Split the organization into two groups – and move to two different forests that will be able to handle the needs of the two groups.

4) Should he join Price John in the conspiracy, kill the sherrif, or pay the ransom?

a. Why he shouldn’t join Prince John.

b. Why he shouldn’t just pay the ransom

c. Why he set up a plan to kill the Sherrif, and if that fails, retreat to a new forest and set up new operations.

Here's my first page that I wrote for my introduction. Please use this

The Robin Hood case study, by Joseph Lampel, is a very complex tale of a leader whose organization is experiencing sudden distraught, miscommunication, and external attacks. Robin Hood is very similar to any modern day leader who is charged with the task of taking an organization through great leaps in order to reach and sustain success. While reading through the case study, a business ***** person can easily identify many complex issues that need evaluating and improvement.

In this study of the Robin Hood story, I will focus our attention on the three keys issues, and how I would apply management procedures, policies, and practices in order to create the biggest positive impact on the organization. The three areas of concern that I feel will have the biggest impact once improved are: 1) how to better organization the internal structure and gain control of the organization, 2) how to generate more revenue, keep expenses under control, and control the inventory of goods and supplies, and 3) what to do when faced with the decision to join another organization, destroy the competition, or retreat to another market.

Something we should consider when analyzing the Robin Hood case is whether or not Robin Hood will actually have the time, resources, and knowledge to carry out our plans. For the sake of argument, we will act as if Robin Hood has the opportunity to take a look at this organization and make these changes. As in the real business world, leaders must make quick decisions – and sometimes these decisions have very big long term effects. We’ll also consider the ripple effect that each decision may cause, and we’ll act as if Robin Hood is able to spend the necessary amount of time needed to analyze the situation, make a decision, and successfully implement his decisions.