1.

Complete the SWOT analysis

Strengths
-The group has huge number of members.
-Robin Hood has strong leadership.
-The band has good archery skill.
-Brand recognition and strong support from
stockholders who hate the Sheriff.
-Ability to acquire information.
Weaknesses
-Personal grudge against the Sheriff may
negatively influence decisions.
-Low requirement in recruiting new members.
-Hard to maintain order, discipline, vigilance in
the band.
-Decline in food and supplies
-Dependent on the wealth of the rich traveler,
which decrease as the bands strength increase.
-The band is outlaw
Opportunities
-Work with the barons to free King Richard
The Liongearted in Austria
-Gain profit from taxing the farmers and
townspeople.

Threats
-Rich merchants increase their products prices to
make up for the loss from being robbed.
-The band may lose support from the villagers.
-The growing military capabilities of the Sheriff.
-The political connections of the Sheriff.
-Spies of Prince John have infiltrated the band.

2. Does Robin Hood need to expand or change the mission and purpose of the organization?
This will depend on the ultimate goal of Robin Hood. If the return of King Richard the
Lionhearted is what the band pursuits, then changing their missions is necessary to join the

Barons conspiracy in court intrigue. On the other hand, Robin can keep the bands current
objectives to help the poor, and put more pressure on the Sheriff and prince John to distract them
from the scheme of the barons.
3. Evaluate at least 3 alternatives that Robin Hood has.
The first strategy is to kill the Sheriff. The band already has significant number of members and
support of the townspeople, while the Sheriff is getting stronger, more organized, and starting to
harass the band. It is only a matter of time before the Sheriff, through his political connection,
gains enough power to eliminate the band, so the only chance Robin has to kill the Sheriff is
now, though this wouldnt significantly benefit the group as a whole in long term.
The second strategy is to restructure the band. Human resources should be considered. Though
the band has power in number, its strength cannot be improved further with training and
discipline due to the lack of instructors. Additionally, restricting the recruitment process would
lower the chance a spy may penetrate the band. Robin may choose to recruit farmers into the
band to resolve the issue of food shortage; this would allow the band to grow their food more
efficiently, and gradually eliminate expenses for trading and converting loots to provisions.
The third strategy is to join the barons association to free King Richard. However, this is a very
risky strategy, and the consequences would be dreadful if failed. On the other hand, if Robin
doesnt show support of the barons and keeps on robbing the rich, he may still be considered a
criminal when King Richard regains his throne.
4. What strategy would you recommend ---- and why?

The best strategy for Robin Hood would be accepting the barons offer to release King Richard
the Lionhearted from prison in Austria. With King Richard returned to his power, all Robins
problems would vanish. Prince John and the Sheriff would be severely punished, the poor would
be assisted by the King, and Robin would return to his law-abiding life.
5. What ideas can you offer for implementing this strategy?
The first thing Robin must do is joining forces with the barons. In the current situation, Robin is
unable to resolve the bands issues alone. However, through the alliance with the barons, Robin
can provide them the workforce they need to create value and collect the ransom that would
release the King. Furthermore, by allocating some of his members to work for the barons, Robin
would significantly reduce the amount of provisions needed for the band in Sherwood Forest.
Additionally, with fewer members left, they would receive better attention in training, discipline,
and, if any, spying activities would be greatly restricted. By delegating some members to work
for the barons, other members can focus on what they do best - robbing the rich; this would not
only substantially increase the bands labor productivity, but also would reduce the number of
members needed to share the loot. Moreover, by constantly committing outlaw activities, Robin
would draw the Sheriffs and Prince Johns attentions away from the barons scheme.
The biggest threat for this plan is that a spy of Prince John may find out the conspiracy.
However, Robin can easily avoid this situation by restricting the recruitment criteria, utilizing the
alliance with the barons to increase intelligence and information gathering to prevent and detect
spies within the band. With the political power of the barons, the Sheriffs movements may be
restricted, and Robin may even have a chance to set his spy into Prince Johns side.