INSTRUCTIONS

Read the "Robin Hood" case below. Look at Robin Hood and his band of Merrymen

as an organization. Think of their activities and the issues that they face using management and business terms such as leadership, recruitment, revenue generation, expansion, diversification, competition, and the like.

$1.$ Identify elements of their organizational strengths and weaknesses. Examine the external environment and identify opportunities and threats they face. Enter the items identified in the appropriate places in the TOWS matrix in Figure $7\mathrm{.}1$ that follows the case.

$2.$ Next, one by one, match the elements from the "Internal" axis $($S or W$)$ with ones

from the "External" axis $(0$ or T$)$ and write them as action steps $($that is$,$ actions the

organization can undertake$)$ in the inside boxes labeled SO$,$ WO$,$ ST$,$ and WT$.$ A

brief example is given in the chart in Figure $7\mathrm{.}1$ to illustrate the process. Then answer

questions $1$ and $2$ that follow.

ROBIN HOOD

I

t was in the spnn$"\text{'}$Of the second year of his insurrection against the High Sheriff of N$\text{'}\mathrm{.}1$tnng$$ ham that RobIn Ilvod 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 Ihe Shenff and his administration. However, alone Robin Hood could do little. He

therefore sought $,$il$,$eS$.$ men with grievances and a deep sense of justice. Later he welcomed all

who came, asklllg lew questions and demanding only a willingness to serve. Strcn$"$lh$,$ he believed, lay in numbers.

He spent the first year forging the group into a disciplined band, united in eruruty against the

Sheriff and willing to live outside the law. The band'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. lirtle John kept discipline among the men, and saw to it that their

archery was at the high peak that their profession demanded C;carlock took care of the finances,

converting loot to cash, paying shares of the take, and findlO!$\text{'}\backslash$wtable hiding places for the surplus. Finally, Much, the Miller's son, had the difficult tash ot 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 declined, and discipline

$50$ Session $7$ Generating a Plan of Action: SWOT Analysis

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was beCOmlll$)$: harder to enforce. "Why," Robin reflected, "I don't know half the men I run into

these days'

The growing band was also hl glilrung to exceed the food capacity of the forest. Game was

becoming scarce, and supplies h$.$lJ te$>$ be obtained from outlying villages. The cost of buying

food was beginning to drain the band's fmancial 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 berth. 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 from the rich and 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, ptobing for its weaknesses. The tide of

events was bl$$lnrung to turn against the Merrymen. Robin felt that the campaign must be decisively concluJl J before the Sheriff had a chance to deliver a mortal blow. "But how," he wondered, "could thts 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 f