Bgen 499 - Robin Hood

BGEN 499

Robin Hood Case Analysis

Situation

Robin Hood was in the spring of the second year of his insurrection against the High Sheriff of Nottingham.  He wanted the Sheriff removed from the office, so his strategy was to create a state of unrest and make the Sheriff fail in tax collection. During the first year of Revolt, Robin sought allies and built a large body of men with grievances and made a disciplined fighting force, housed in Sherwood Forest and united in enmity against the Sheriff. Robin ruled supreme had lieutenants to whom he delegated functions. Through fame, the band grew and he gained recruits from all over England. However, the discipline slackened, food started to be scarce and revenues were running short as the rich were avoiding the forest. In addition, the Sheriff got the support of Prince John, the regent and he also got reinforcements while strengthening his hold.

Main issues/problems

The main problem facing Robin Hood is the growth size of his band. Initially, he had hoped that strength lay in numbers, and the bigger the size of the band was, the better it would be to effectively fight against the Sheriff’s administration. With Robin not being more selective in his recruitment process and curbing the number of people being recruited, he has caused problems with the band corporation. He doesn’t know who his men are since face to face interactions are hard to complete with the large amount of people, making rule enforcement and discipline harder to obtain in the group. Moreover, the growth of the band has other problems since the capacity to fund the band became very scarce. The cost of buying food started to drain the band’s financial reserves while their revenues and resources were in decline and the supplies had to be obtained from outlying villages. Then, Robin Hood and his band are now in trouble because wealthy travelers are avoiding the forest.

Connections to curriculum concepts

In two classes I have taken the past semester, called Entrepreneurship and Leadership, I have learned different aspects that relate to this specific case. Robin Hood’s case is similar to a situation any entrepreneurial organization could face, where the band is highly motivated by Robin Hood’s leadership. In this case, Robin relied on informal communication to organize the band since he is pleased with the growing size and influence of his organization. However, growth has meant that his time is now mostly fulfilled with different tasks and there is not enough time to meet the first line recruits, who are now all located in a large encampment that can be seen for miles. This growth creates pressure on resources and now Robin needs to analyze the situation, take decisions and actions to create competitive advantages and solve the issues the company faces.  Any organization needs to look toward their objectives and goals in decision making and recognize their efficiency and effectiveness in performing duties.

...