Wyatt Earp Case

Wyatt Earl

In my opinion the case about Wyatt Earp is a demonstration of what happens when you think outside the box and question regularity in the business sense. Wyatt saw a new, and potentially better way to do things in the business of killing buffalos. He focused on the finances in his business in order to gain an upper hand by closely examining the numbers. Wyatt recognized the excessive business model that most buffalo hunters followed. They used huge groups of people to hunt and focused on mass killings with each person focusing on a specific job. After all of the buffalo had been skinned, they would sell them to the nearest marketplace and split the profits after expenses were taken out. The hunters were stuck in their ways, but Wyatt saw potential for a better living. He decided to cut down the amount of animals, and crewmembers he would need significantly for his hunts. He found one person to work with and took on more tasks such as skinning the animals, which was frowned upon by the elder hunters. He also used a shotgun instead of the traditional rifle. It had a shorter range, but could be fired quicker without having to allow for cool down periods. Also, the ammunition was cheaper. Sure, he only killed around 20 buffalo a day instead of 100, but he was so cost efficient that the bottom line was comparable if not better. By taking on additional responsibilities, Wyatt was able to kill a lot less and make more money in the long run. By using a small team his expenses were low making for a higher profit margin than using the traditional big team. All in all, I believe this case is meant to teach about creating better efficiencies in a business by closely examining the numbers and your competitors.