With Robin Hood serving as the CEO of the Merrymen, he gathered his team to strategize on the problems that were arising during that time. As they were discussing, it was becoming evident that the organization and their business model will not be sustainable if changes will not happen. Particularly, the following issues needed to be tackled:
? Robin Hood’s personal campaign against the Sheriff
? The increasing size of the band
? A mission to restore King Richard back to power
? Security and vigilance (because whoever wanted to join was taken in there could be spies and traitors in the group)
? To overcome the largest competitor, the sheriff.
II. Statement of the Problem
1. How to restructure the organization to a more efficient one? Organizing the group into one force with a common goal and objective. Establishing a mission and vision for such a big organization and aligning people with it.
2. Keeping up with ever changing environmental and economic scenarios
3. Changing from old war methods to newer one which could utilize the workforce better.
III. Analysis
Using SWOT Analysis, the following details were taken into consideration:
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.
? Robin’s band of Merrymen 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
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.
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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 Lionheart from his jail in Austria in return for Robin’s future amnesty.
? The baron’s 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 possibilities for revenue.
? The Merrymen could kill the sheriff therefore ending his reign at 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 ta& 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.
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 Merrymen. The reduction in traffic in the route results in a loss of revenue for the organization.
? Though Robin’s band is growing at an uncontrollable rate, the Sheriff’s forces are becoming stronger and more organized too.
? 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 Sheriff’s forces to attack.
? The rapid growth rate of Robin’s organization is depleting 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 Sheriff’s 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 baron’s 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.
IV. Decisions – Formulation
Robin has only one viable strategy. He must expand his vision. He must join the barons and embrace a bigger picture. It means losing control. But that’s okay. In so doing, he will not only have the opportunity to do good to others (the king, the barons, and the rest of the loyal kingdom), but he just might accomplish his own personal goals as well. He’s got to become a part of something bigger than himself. If he doesn’t, he’ll wither and rot in his vengeance spirit.
V. Actions – Implementation
The choice is to pursue negotiations with the barons and participate in their efforts to restore King Richard to the throne; there are several actions that Robin should take:
? Have a meeting with the Merrymen and explain fully the strategic dilemma that the organization finds itself in for the long term and the tough choices that have to be made. Let everyone know that the future does not look promising, that things cannot continue going as they have been, and that the time has come to chart a new course.
? Stop accepting recruits immediately and begin a program to downsize the organization.
? Encourage people to leave the organization voluntarily. Perhaps Little John should come down hard on those who are not inclined to observe strict discipline as a way of making some people unhappy enough to leave.
? Employ a harvest strategy to maximize short-term cash flow. Perhaps make scattered raids outside Sherwood Forest to shore up sagging revenues.
? Pursue negotiations with the barons to secure amnesty for all the remaining Merrymen, the justification being that their efforts have helped generate the money that Robin Hood can contribute to the ransom for King Richard.
? Avoid further conflict with the Sheriff and lessen the urgency for the Sheriff to secure reinforcements. Try to buy enough time in the campaign against the Sheriff for the efforts to secure the 0ing?s release to bear fruit.
? Prepare to cease operations as soon as circumstances permit. Help the Merrymen find alternative career occupations. Try to bring the organization to a graceful end. Have key lieutenants develop an orderly exit strategy.
? Robin should personally devote most of his time and effort to assisting the barons gain King Richard’s release and making sure that the promise of amnesty is honored.
