Robin Hood SWOT Mini-Case

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Generating a Plan of Action for Robin Hood

SWOT & TOWS Matrix: The SWOT model provides a comprehensive view of the firm in relation to its environment. Taking this further, you will learn to build a plan of action using the TOWS Matrix for Robin Hood.

BEFORE READING THE ROBIN HOOD MINI-CASE BELOW, PLEASE READ THIS DOC FOR THE THEORY BEHIND SWOT & TOWS MATRIX SWOT and TOWS Matrix.pdf

ROBIN HOOD MINI-CASE

It was in the spring of the second year of his insurrection against the High Sheriff of Nottingham that Robin Hood took a walk in Sherwood Forest. As he walked, he pondered the progress of the campaign, the disposition of his forces, the Sheriff’s 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 the Sheriff and his administration. However, alone Robin Hood could do little. He therefore sought allies, men with grievances and a deep sense of justice. Later he welcomed all who came, asking few questions and demanding only a willingness to serve. Strength, he believed, lay in numbers. He spent the first year forging the group into a disciplined band, united in enmity 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. Little John kept discipline among the men, and saw to it that their archery was at the high peak that their profession demanded. Scarlock took care of the finances, converting loot to cash, paying shares of the take, and finding suitable hiding places for the surplus. Finally, Much, the Miller’s son, had the difficult task of provisioning the ever increasing band of Merry Men.

The increasing size of the band was a source of satisfaction for Robin, but also a source of concern. The fame of his Merry Men 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 was becoming harder to enforce. “Why,” Robin reflected, “I don’t know half the men I run into these days.” The growing band was also beginning to exceed the food capacity of the forest. Game was becoming scarce, and supplies had to be obtained from outlying villages. The cost of buying food was beginning to drain the band’s financial 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 Merry Men 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 Merry Men’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 Merry Men 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, probing for its weaknesses. The tide of events was beginning to turn against the Merry Men. Robin felt that the campaign must be decisively concluded before the Sheriff had a chance to deliver a mortal blow. “But how,” he wondered, “could this 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 Sheriff’s failure to collect taxes, would lead to his removal from office. Instead, the Sheriff used his political connections to obtain reinforcement. He had powerful friends at court and was well regarded by the regent, Prince John.

Prince John was vicious and volatile. He was consumed by his unpopularity among the people, who wanted the imprisoned King Richard back. He also lived in constant fear of the barons, who had first given him the regency, but were now beginning to dispute his claim to the throne. Several of these barons had set out to collect the ransom that would release King Richard the Lionheart from his jail in Austria. Robin was invited to join the conspiracy in return for future amnesty. It was a dangerous proposition. Provincial banditry was one thing, court intrigue another. Prince John had spies everywhere, and he was known for his vindictiveness. If the conspirators’ plan failed, the pursuit would be relentless, and retributions swift. The sound of the supper horn startled Robin from his thoughts. There was the smell of roasting venison in the air. Nothing was resolved or settled. Robin headed for camp promising himself that he would give these problems his utmost attention after tomorrow’s raid.

After reading the SWOT and TOWS Matrix.pdf and the Robin Hood Mini-Case above, please click on this doc link Robin Hood TOWS Matrix.docx and complete the exercise according to the instructions provided in the word document and submit it.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU ONLY NEED TO ENTER YOUR RESPONSES IN THE SPACES PROVIDED IN THE STRUCTRED FORMAT AND UPLOAD THE WORD DOCUMENT FOR ASSESSMENT. THAT WILL COMPLETE YOUR SUBMISSION TO THE MINI CASE!

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Generating a Plan of Action: SWOT (TOWS) Analysis Objective: The SWOT model provides a comprehensive view of the firm in relation to its environment. Taking this further, you will learn to build a plan of action using the TOWS Matrix. The term SWOT is widely used and well known in the field of strategic management. It is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and represents a helpful tool for generating a summary of a strategic situation. Strengths and weaknesses capture the internal environment of the firm and may include skills, expertise, organizational resources, competitive capabilities, positional advantages or disadvantages, weak finances, market share, brand recognition, or distribution capabilities, to name a few. Opportunities and threats stem from a company’s external competitive environment. It represents trends in the environment that may be favorable or unfavorable to the firm. A merger of two rivals may, for example, be a threat. Or, increasing concern in society about convenience may be a favorable trend for a company whose products and services are designed for busy consumers. New regulations or the emergence of lower-cost technologies, on the other hand, may pose threats. The purpose of this classification was to ensure a good fit between the firm’s material, technical, financial, and managerial resources to ensure full exploitation of opportunities while minimizing risks facing the firm. By putting the four categories in a matrix format, Prof. H. Weihrich provided a useful tool to generate alternatives in a systematic manner. In this format, the analysis is referred to as the TOWS matrix (Figure 7.1, below). ALSO SEE TWO MORE EXAMPLES OF TOWS MATRIX BELOW – ONE THAT CAN BE YOUR OWN POTENTIAL SWOT & ANOTHER TOWS MATRIX OF A RETAIL COMPUTER STORE LIKE BEST BUY. This enables one to match the elements of strengths and weaknesses with the opportunities and threats to generate action steps. When S and O are matched in the SO box, they represent possible ways in which the organization can use its strengths to take advantage of opportunities and favorable trends in the environment. Similarly, the ST box represents ways in which strengths could be used to protect the organization from threats. The WO suggests areas internally that need to be tackled to take advantage of the opportunities, and WT shows how the weaknesses make the organization most vulnerable against threats and thereby point to defensive tactics. Take care in entering items in the S, W, O, and T boxes, for they determine the quality of action steps you will generate. Try to be as specific as you can. For instance, rather than saying “Good marketing skills,” it is better to specify what aspect of marketing a company can do well. Or, instead of listing “International expansion” as an opportunity, try to spell out what market characteristic, internationally, represents the opportunity. When you match the items to generate action steps, state it as actions the organization can undertake, rather than as an analysis of the situation. Matching the strengths and opportunities directs the growth and expansion of firms. However, equally important is the intersection of weaknesses and threats. They represent areas where the organization is particularly vulnerable, especially in a very competitive environment. Steps the organization could take to mitigate potential threats and strengthen its position are important components of an action plan. Complementary action steps, from the various boxes, can be combined to form a cohesive “alternative.” When at least two such alternative groups of action steps are formed, they present alternative plans of action for the future. Then, depending on goals, resource availability, short vs. long-term time frame, etc., the organization can make a choice. FIGURE 7.1 TOWS MATRIX INTERNAL Strengths (S) Weaknesses (W) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Opportunities (O) Favorable Trends 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. SO WO 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. Threats (T) Unfavorable Trends 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. ST WT 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. EXTERNAL Example No. 1: YOUR OWN SWOT MATRIX & SO, WO, ST, WT Strategies 1. On a separate sheet of paper, construct a SWOT Matrix. Include what you consider to be your major external opportunities, major external threats, major strengths and major weaknesses. For example, an internal weakness might be a low grade point average. An external opportunity might be a graduate program that interests you. 2. Match key external and internal factors by recording in the appropriate cell of the matrix alternative strategies or actions that would allow you to capitalize upon your strengths, overcome your weaknesses, take advantage of your external opportunities, and minimize the impact of external threats. Be sure to use the appropriate matching notation in the strategy cells of the matrix. Because every individual is unique, there is no one right answer to this exercise. ! Leave Blank Opportunities – O 1. Potential to advance education with MBA 2. Many industries and locations with job growth (especially health care and biotechnology) Threats – T 1. Many students graduate each year with same degree 2. Potential for recession or slow economic growth (fewer jobs available, salaries lower) 3. Jobs outsourced overseas ! Strengths – S 1. Good grades 2. Financial resources available for education 3. Strong communication skills 4. Motivated 5. Good team player SO Strategies 1. Apply to graduate school (S1, S2, O1) 2. Enter industries with strong potential for growth (S1, S3, S4, S5, O2) Weaknesses – W 1. No work experience 2. No foreign language skills 3. Degree from regional university with little brand recognition ST Strategies 1. Emphasize good grades to potential employers (S1, T1) 2. Consider pursuing MBA if job market is weak (S2, T2, T3) WT Strategies 1. Pursue foreign language training and other skills that can differentiate from others (W2, T1) 2. Seek out internship in growing industry (W1, T2, T3) WO Strategies 1. Seek out an internship (W1, O2) 2. Minimize importance of foreign language by improving other aspects of education (W2, O1) AN ACTION PLAN FOR ROBIN HOOD MINI-CASE (10 POINTS) DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS OF HOW TO COMPLETE THE MINI-CASE ARE GIVEN BELOW. FIGURE 7.1 TOWS MATRIX FOR ROBIN HOOD INTERNAL Strengths (S) Weaknesses (W) 1. Size: More fighting men 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Opportunities (O) Favorable Trends 1. Other forests available 2. 3. 4. 5. SO WO 1. Expand operations to other forests (S1,O1) 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. Threats (T) Unfavorable Trends 1. Game (food) becoming scarce 2. 3. 4. 5. ST WT 1. Create separate group with a different mission – to hunt for food and not involved in robbing. (S1, T1) 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. EXTERNAL 1 After reading the Robin Hood Mini-Case on Canvas, consider Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men 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. PLEASE WORK ON THIS DOCUMENT AS INSTRUCTED IN 3 STEPS BELOW - AND SUBMIT IT! STEP 1: Identify elements of their organizational strengths and weaknesses. Examine the external environment and identify trends that represent opportunities and threats. Enter the items identified in the appropriate places in the TOWS matrix above in Figure 7.1. (in Red are my examples). STEP 2: Then enter your responses in the appropriate places in the TOWS matrix above in Figure 7.1. (in Red are my examples), by matching one by one, the elements from the “Internal” axis (S or W) with ones from the “External” axis (O or T) and write them as action step (that is, actions the organization can undertake) at the intersections in the boxes labeled SO, WO, ST, and WT. Track the source of the ideas for the match within parenthesis. STEP 3: Then type in your response in not more than 250 words for the following Question #1 in the box provided: AND THEN UPLOAD THE ENTIRE WORD DOC TO CANVAS TO COMPLETE YOUR ASSIGNMENT! Question #1: Which TWO of the FOUR above alternatives or strategies (SO,ST,WO,WT) would you recommend - you can offer 1st preference and 2nd preference. And more importantly explain why – by identifying specific criteria or logic behind your choices. (Type in your answer in this box in not more than 250 words) 2
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