MGT 7A

Case Analysis: Robin Hood and His

Band of Merry Men
Case Summary:

Robin Hood and his band of Merrymen is the subject of our case study. Robin
Hood's revolt against the Sheriff began as a personal crusade. First year of revolt,
Robin has successfully forged the group into a disciplined fighting force housed in
Sherwood forest with the organization set up being simple. The group's organizational
structure is a typical top-down management style, "Robin ruled supreme, making all
important decisions. He delegated specific tasks to his lieutenants. Will Scarlett in
charge in intelligence and scouting. Little John kept discipline and took care of archery
training. Scarlock took care of the finances and Much had the difficult task of
provisioning the ever increasing band of Merry Men. While the bands increase in
number "was a source of satisfaction for Robin, was also a source of concern" Fame
spread as the band grew; discipline slackened and food was scarce. Revenues were
running short as the rich were avoiding the forest.
Merrymen’s famous motto: “Rob from the rich and give it to the poor”.
Statement of the Problem:

The band of Merrymen is overstaffed and are without

sufficient resources to sustain it. Lack of discipline
within the band yet the decline in the Merrymen’s
revenue stream was also a problem. Thus, the increasing
power of the sheriff.
Alternative Strategies:
1. Abundance of members
➢ Proper structuring of the band
In order to meet the decreasing level of
discipline and vigilance, Robin Hood needs
to put their recruitment process in order.
A better way to do this is by recruiting
supervisors and laying down HR policies for
recruitment.
2. Increase Resources and
Revenues
➢ Transit tax; instead of money,
available livestock or rice from the
townsmen would be collected. This
might lessen the burden of financial
expenses.
➢ Expansion of territory; The group has
outgrown the Sherwood Forest. It can
no longer provide sanctuary for group
of their size. Expansion would lead to
new sources of revenue.
3. Bring back King Richard
➢ Join hands with the barons; Several
barons had set out to collect ransom
that would release King Richard from
his jail in Austria. Robin had been
discreetly asked to join in return for
future amnesty. Through this, Sheriff
will be overthrown and his threat will
be minimal.
➢ Killing the Sheriff; Killing the sheriff
directly would satisfy personal thirst
for revenge.
Conclusion:

We conclude that Robinhood immediately implements a

larger area from which to loot in order to sustain his
group of Merrymen. For us, he told them to scout the
routes that the rich travelers are taking and rob them
there. It is an exemplary way to gain more revenue and
to continuously finance the things they need. Hence, he
strengthen his allies and killed the Sheriff of
Nottingham’s.
 Recommendation:
We strongly recommend that the band’s mission should be clearly stated. Was the band initially
created to fight against the sheriff’s administration or to help the poor by stealing from the rich?
Or are these two points interconnected? This is referred to as Policy Revisions. Second, Franchising
the organization to other parts of England. This would address most of the issues faced by Robin's
organization. They could continue to grow in size and increase revenues without depleting the
resources of Sherwood Forest. If each of the new bands were smaller in size, the training could be
more intense and discipline could be implemented again within the ranks of the organization. Third,
A program needs to be implemented for member acceptance. This will help control the growth of
the organization, ensure only people who have skills to offer will be accepted, and protect the
organization from being infiltrated by Prince John's spies. Fourth, by restructuring the organization
because currently the organization is not organised according to the size they’re dealing with. He is
assisted by four people for the functions and is certainly under employed. It is evident that
managing such a huge organization is getting difficult for Robin Hood and there may be certain
functions that are neglected due to less supervisors and managers. Robin Hood needs to change the
organizational structure. This will result in decentralisation of the control to some extent. In this
way, the band will be well-organized and prepared enough for the battle.
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