Robin Hood - Joining the Barons to Raise the Kings Ransom - Case Study Example

Goals and Objectives The primary goals and objectives of the band are to suppress the rule of the Sherriff and eventually turn the people against him so he could be removed from office and power and stop oppressing his subjects. They hope to bring back justice to the land by turning the tide against the rich who had been exploiting the poor (Lampel). By robbing the rich to give the poor they intend to create a sense of social economic justice which would be politically reinforced by the Sheriff’s removal. Name Robin Hood Will Scarlet Little John Scarlock Much Millar Duties Overseer and supervisor Shadow the Sherriff and his men Gather data on the travel plans of tax collectors, merchants and potential targets Provide intelligence for security and revenue collection Train archery Maintain discipline among the men Keep records of collection Plan expenditure and store money Convert loot to cash Plan meals and distribute provisions Organizational Chart SWOT Analysis Strengths 1. The Number of Merry men is increasing rapidly 2. The band is becoming popular with the people, more so the poor 3. The band is organized with a clear-cut division of labor among the top lieutenants Weaknesses 1. The number of merry men is increasing past manageable levels 2. The levels of vigilance are reducing making the band vulnerable to attacks 3. With many members discipline is hard to enforce 4. Feeding the men is becoming a very costly venture. Threats 1. The Sheriff is becoming more powerful using his political connections 2. Their finances for the band are in a decline 3. The merchants who were the main source of revenue are giving the forest a wide berth Opportunities 1. Implement Fixed Transit Tax instead of confiscation 2. Expand to a larger area of operations 3. Join the Barons quest to rescue Richard 4. Kill the Sherriff Expansion of Territory It is clear Robin and his band are badly in need of a new plan since the current modus oparendi is not sustainable given that the rich may altogether stop passing through the forest effectively killing their revenue stream. On the face of it, expansion looks like a good plan since it would allow the members to continue pillaging and hunting to sustain themselves with an increased base. However in the end this will likely put them at loggerheads with the community including the poor they are trying to help ergo this plans is simply a time buying ill-advised tactic. Imposition of Tax On the other hand, imposing a transit tax is a good idea since the rich are going out of their way to travel around the forest at a great cost to reduce the risk of losing their goods to the merry men (Lampel). Therefore, Robin should calculate approximately how much it costs to go round the forest and charge a transit tax of slightly less than that. In addition, he should enforce discipline and civility to ensure that the wealthy traders are not harassed, this way when they realize that going through the forest will be less pricy that circumnavigating it they will be more willing to resume their old route. The band will then have a marginally smaller but constant source of revenue, which is better than the unsustainable take all technique. Joining the Barons to Raise the Kings Ransom On the up side of joining the barons in raising the money to free the king is that he would not have to live outside of the laws, in addition the sheriff and cruel king John would be no longer be a concern since the King Richard would dispose of them. In addition, the grateful monarch would likely pardon and perhaps reward the merry men. Nevertheless, there is a downside to this plan, for one, the king would mostly likely not let the men keep collecting taxes in his land and in the long run he may hunt them down and they end up becoming the same outlaws they were to start with. In addition, King John realized what was happening behind his backs, he could take drastic action and give the sheriff more reinforcements to attack the merry men and have them killed in retribution. Killing the Sherriff Killing the Sherriff would be a bad idea since they would likely invite a full-scale war from the king, to kill his lieutenant would be a direct affront to King John and he could mobilize numerous forces and resources to have them rousted out of the forest. Most Viable Plan: Levy Transit Tax The best cause of action is for the merry men is to set a transit tax for the forests since in the long run if they are organized they can form a sort of parallel government which can do more than steal and redistribute. They can also sustain their popularity among the people who will see them as fair and encouraged membership, which should be easily managed given the steady revenue stream. Steps to follow to implement the plan Have a meeting with his men and convince or if necessary force them to agree with his plan Carry out a public information campaign so the news can reach the traders that they will no longer be deprived of their wares but rather taxed Organize a section of his men to be in charge of implementing the taxes and train them on how to do it professionally Map out a specific route so that travelers can be observed and protected to avoid harassment by rogue members or tax evasion. New Organizational Plan Name Robin Hood Will Scarlet Information management and communication Little John Security and Discipline Much Millar Quartermaster Scarlock Finance Duties Overseer and supervisor Meet with representatives of the merchants in town to discuss the terms of taxation Have men spread the word in all the villages and towns surrounding the village Report on the reactions of the people to the news Supervise the collection of taxes Discipline those who manhandle or harass traders unnecessarily Deal with merchants who refuse to pay tax Protect the traders who have already paid taxes and have them escorted to the edge Distribute the food among the men Take a record of the taxes to be paid Keep records of those who came through and store the provisions Speech “Men, I know you have been wondering what we are going to do about our situation. I have just come from a meeting with the leaders of this band. We are going to take the following actions immediately to help address our situation: First, We are going to put in a tax system instead of taking everything away from those who pass by the forest. Second, we are going to spread the word so they can stop using far off roads Third we are going to have to be more disciplined and treat the “visitors civilly” unless of course they refuse to pay. For the long term, what we want to do is to become more like an organized government that takes away enough to get on but not so much that there is nothing to take tomorrow. What I want each of you to do this week is clearly follow the instructions and training provide by your leaders so that from the beginning of next week the civil and organized phase of our operation can commence. Work Cited Lampel, Joseph. Robin Hood Case Study. New York: New York University. N.d. Print. Read More