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Robin Hood
Overview
This 2page case is a classic that works great in the classrooom. It forces students to think outside the box,
challenging them to analyze Robin Hood’s crusade against the Sheriff of Nottingham in business terms.
As the case unfolds, Robin Hood’s problems are multiplying. His main source of revenue is declining as
travelers are beginning to avoid coming through the forest (The market is in decline! The present strategy
has run out of gas. Does Robin Hood need to expand into new geographic markets to maintain and grow
revenues?). Yet, because the fame of his Merrymen is spreading, new recruits are pouring in. The size of
his band is beginning to exceed the food capacity of the forest and the band’s camp, because of its
increasing size, is easier to detect. Discipline is becoming harder to enforce. (In other words, costs are
rising and diseconomies of scale have set in—Robin Hood is caught in a classic profit squeeze!
Moreover, the culture is being eroded because all the newcomers do not have the same values and beliefs
as the original members who had a common bond of opposing the evil Sheriff and trying to redress
grievances of the downtrodden at the hands of the ruling class.) Furthermore, the Sheriff’s forces are
growing stronger (i.e., competition is intensifying!). Robin needs an action plan to deal with the
deteriationg situation, and he needs to implement it quickly.
Assignment Questions
1. What problems does Robin Hood have? What issues need to be addressed?
2. Do Robin Hood and the Merrymen need a new mission? new objectives? a new strategy?
3. What strategic options does Robin Hood have? Is continuing with the present strategy an option or is
the present strategy obsolete?
4. Why not try to end the campaign by killing the Sheriff?
5. What are the pros and cons of accepting the offer of the barons to assist in securing King Richard’s
release from prison?
6. What action plan would you recommend to Robin?
7. How should Robin implement the recommended plan? What action steps will need to be taken to
make the recommended strategy work successfully?
7. What are the pros and cons of accepting the offer of the barons
to assist in securing King Richard’s release from prison?
While this option may not have seemed appealing at the outset, by this point in the class discussion it
starts to loom as something that must be considered very seriously. None of the other options have
stood up under careful scrutiny. We like to dig into this option by asking the class why the barons
have approached Robin for his assistance. The obvious reason, it seems to us, is because Robin
Hood’s activities put him in a position to provide some of the ransom. He might also serve as an
emissary to deliver the ransom and some expertise from members of his organization could prove
valuable as well. But, Robin’s primary value to the barons is likely the assist he could provide in
collecting the necessary monies for the ransom. There’s likely to be no disagreement from the class
on this point.
The benefit of Robin joining with the barons is the promise of amnesty for himself. Amnesty gives
Robin a way out of his dilemma and offers a way to successfully end his campaign against the
Sheriff. Yes, there are risks but they seem no greater than are posed by the other options he has.
But there are some difficulties that some class members may not have thought about.
If Robin gets amnesty, then he has his golden parachute. But what about the rest of the
Merrymen? Is Robin to abandon them to fend for themselves?
What loyalty does Robin owe the other stakeholders — the Merrymen and the poor people he has
benefitted through his efforts at income redistribution?
Can Robin Hood, as leader, just up and walk away because he has been offered a better deal?
Even if he can, should he?
Is Robin ethically and morally obligated to look out for the wellbeing of his organization as best
he can before he departs? Should he try to get the organization in good shape before he departs?
Should he be the first to bail out and try to save only himself?
Should he try to arrange amnesty for his chief lieutenants? for all the Merrymen? even the new
recruits whom he doesn’t know?
The point of this discussion is to highlight the leader’s role and responsibility for looking out for the
best interests of the organization’s stakeholders and also to indicate the need for a plan to implement
whatever course of action is chosen.