Robin Hood's Decision Has Become Increasingly Complex, Case Study

Robin Hood's decision has become increasingly complex, as he now has a large number of stakeholders to consider. These include his men, the townsfolk and farmers, the barons, the prince, the sheriff and his most loyal followers. Each has a specific stake in Hood's decision. The most important stakeholder is himself, but beyond that Robin needs a vision for what he wants to be. This vision will help him clarify who the other major stakeholders are -- the townspeople and farmers, or his most loyal men. Robin's vision is either going to be for an exit strategy from the banditry industry or to transition the business to a national-level political model.

There is also an implicit social contract among the merry men, and also between the merry men and the community. One of Hood's options -- a fixed tax -- explicitly violates the social contract that he has with the community. Another option -- becoming involved in politics -- also seems to void the social contract he has with his most loyal men that is encapsulated in the old vision of "take from the rich, give to the poor."

As far as a vision is concerned, the Merry Men have thus far been driven by the original vision as noted above.Some of the new men, however, do not appear to share this cultural value. This is more a problem of recruitment at the firm than it is about the vision itself. Positioning Merry Men, then, is more about renewing commitment to the vision that made them so successful in the first place. Some deadwood may need to be culled in order to make the Merry Men more manageable in size, and to reinforce commitment to the organization's vision.

Once the group has been brought down to a sustainable size, Hood must set out some near- and long-term objectives for the Merry Men. In the near time, they face….....