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CHAPTER 7

PLANNING AND GOAL SETTING

CHAPTER OUTLINE
Does Goal Setting Fit Your Management Style?
I. Goal-Setting and Planning Overview
A. Levels of Goals and Plans
B. The Organizational Planning Process
II. Goal-Setting in Organizations
A. Organizational Mission
B. Goals and Plans
C. Align Goals Using a Strategy Map
New Manager Self-Test: Your Approach to Studying
III. Operational Planning
A. Criteria for Effective Goals
B. Management by Objectives (MBO)
C. Single-Use and Standing Plans
IV. Benefits and Limitations of Planning
V. Planning for a Turbulent Environment
A. Contingency Planning
B. Building Scenarios
C. Crisis Planning
VI. Innovative Approaches to Planning
A. Set Stretch Goals for Excellence
B. Use Performance Dashboards
C. Deploy Intelligence Teams

ANNOTATED LEARNING OBJECTIVES


After studying this chapter, students should be able to:

1. Define goals and plans and explain the relationship between them.

A goal is a desired future state that the organization attempts to realize. A plan is a blueprint for
goal achievement and specifies the necessary resource allocations, schedules, tasks, and other
actions. The term planning usually incorporates both ideas and means determining the
organization’s goals and defining the means for achieving them.

2. Explain the concept of organizational mission and how it influences goal setting and
planning.

© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. ,
except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
.
120 • Chapter 7

The overall planning process begins with a mission statement, which describes the organization’s
reason for existence. The mission describes the organization’s values, aspirations and reason for
being. A well-defined mission is the basis for development of all subsequent goals and plans.
Without a clear mission, goals and plans may be developed haphazardly and not take the
organization in the direction it needs to go. Because of mission statements, employees,
customers, suppliers, and stockholders know the company’s stated purpose and values.

Categorize the types of goals an organization should have.

3. Within the organization there are three levels of goals: strategic, tactical, and operational.

• Strategic goals are broad statements of where the organization wants to be in the future.
Strategic goals pertain to the organization as a whole and are the stated intentions of what the
organization wants to achieve.
• Tactical goals define the results that major divisions and departments within the organization
must achieve. Tactical goals apply to middle management and describe what major subunits
must do in order for the organization to achieve its overall goals.
• Operational goals describe specific results expected from departments, work groups, and
individuals. Operational goals are precise and measurable.

4. Explain how managers use strategy maps to align goals.

A strategy map is a visual representation of the key drivers of an organization’s success and
shows how specific goals and plans in each area are linked. Strategy maps provide a powerful
way for managers to see the cause-and-effect relationships among goals and plans. Managers
use the strategy map to align operational goals with tactical goals and to align tactical goals with
strategic goals.

5. Define the characteristics of effective goals.

Organizational goals at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels should: be specific and
measurable; cover key result areas; be challenging but realistic; include a defined time period;
and be linked to rewards.

6. Describe the four essential steps in the management by objectives (MBO) process.

Management-by-objectives (MBO) is a method whereby managers and employees define goals


for every department, project, and person and use them to control subsequent performance. Four
major activities must occur in order for MBO to be successful.

• Setting goals. This is the most difficult step in MBO. A good goal should be concrete and
realistic, provide a specific target and time frame, and assign responsibility. Goals may be
quantitative or qualitative. Goals jointly derived by mutual agreement between employee
and supervisor create the strongest commitment to achieving goals.
• Developing action plans. An action plan defines the course of action needed to achieve the
stated goals. Action plans are made for both individuals and departments.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Planning and Goal Setting • 121

• Reviewing progress. A periodic progress review is important to ensure that action plans are
working. This periodic checkup allows managers and employees to determine if they are on
target or if corrective action is necessary. The point of MBO is to achieve goals. The action
plan can be changed whenever goals are not being met.
• Appraising overall performance. The final step in MBO is to determine if annual goals have
been achieved for both individuals and departments. Success or failure to achieve goals can
become part of the performance appraisal system and the designation of salary increases and
other rewards. The appraisal of departmental and overall corporate performance shapes
goals for the coming year.

The MBO cycle repeats itself on an annual basis. The specific application of MBO must fit the
needs of each company.

7. Compare and contrast single-use plans and standing plans.

Single-use plans are developed to achieve a set of goals that are not likely to be repeated in the
future. Single-use plans typically include both programs and projects. A program is a plan for
attaining an important, one-time organizational goal. A project is also designed to achieve a
one-time goal, but generally is short-term and has narrow objectives.

Standing plans are ongoing plans that are used to provide guidance for tasks performed
repeatedly within the organization. The primary standing plans are organizational policies, rules,
and procedures. Standing plans generally pertain to such matters as employee illness, absences,
smoking, discipline, hiring, and dismissal.

8. Discuss the benefits and limitations of planning.

The benefits of planning include:


• Goals and plans provide a source of motivation and commitment. Planning can reduce
uncertainty for employees and clarify what they should accomplish.
• Goals and plans guide resource allocation. Planning helps managers decide where they need
to allocate resources, such as employees, money, and equipment.
• Goals and plans are a guide to action. Planning focuses attention on specific targets and
directs employee efforts toward important outcomes.
• Goals and plans set a standard of performance. Because planning and goal setting define
desired outcomes, they also establish performance criteria so managers can measure whether
things are on or off track.

The limitations of planning include:


• Goals and plans can create a false sense of certainty. Having a plan can give managers a
false sense that they know what the future will be like.
• Goals and plans may cause rigidity in a turbulent environment. A related problem is that
planning can lock the organization into specific goals, plans, and time frames, which may no
longer be appropriate.
• Goals and plans can get in the way of intuition and creativity. Success often comes from
creativity and intuition, which can be hampered by too much routine planning.

© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. ,
except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
122 • Chapter 7

9. Describe contingency planning, scenario building, and crisis planning, and explain the
importance of each for today’s managers.

Contingency plans define company responses to be taken in the case of emergencies, setbacks, or
unexpected conditions. Contingency planning enables managers to identify important factors in
the environment and develop plans. They respond quickly to be somewhat proactive, even in an
uncertain and dynamic environment, rather than simply being buffeted about by events.

Scenario building involves looking at current trends and discontinuities and visualizing future
possibilities. Managers use historical data to develop reasonable expectations for the future and
to mentally rehearse different potential future scenarios based on anticipating varied changes that
could affect the organization.

Crisis planning includes two essential stages: crisis prevention and crisis preparation. The crisis
prevention stage involves activities of managers to prevent crises and detect warning signs of
potential crises. The crisis preparation stage includes all the detailed planning to handle a crisis
when it occurs, and appointing a crisis management team and spokesperson. The team should be
able to immediately implement the crisis management plan, so training and practice are
important. At this point it becomes critical for the organization to speak with one voice so that
employees, customers, and the public do not get conflicting stories about what happened and
what the organization is doing about it. After ensuring the physical safety of people, the next
focus should be on responding to the emotional needs of employees, customers, and the public.
Organizations should also strive to give people a sense of security and belonging.

10. Identify innovative planning approaches that managers use in a fast-changing environment.

• Set stretch goals for excellence. Stretch goals get people to think in new ways that can lead
to bold, innovative breakthroughs.
• Use performance dashboards. Performance dashboards help executives keep track of key
performance metrics, and help all employees track progress toward goals, see when things
are falling short, and find innovative ways to get back on course toward reaching specified
targets.
• Deploy intelligence teams. An intelligence team is a cross-functional group of managers and
employees, usually led by a competitive intelligence professional, who work together to gain
a deep understanding of specific business issue, with the aim of presenting insights,
possibilities, and recommendations about goals and plans related to that issue. Intelligence
teams are useful when the organization confronts a major intelligence challenge.

LECTURE OUTLINE
DOES GOAL SETTING FIT YOUR MANAGEMENT STYLE?

Most organizations have goal setting and review systems that new managers use. Not everyone
thrives under a disciplined goal-setting system, but setting goals and assessing results are tools

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Planning and Goal Setting • 123

that can enhance a new manager’s impact. This exercise helps students determine the extent to
which they have already adopted the disciplined use of goals in their lives and in their work.

I. GOAL-SETTING AND PLANNING OVERVIEW

A goal is defined as a desired future state that the organization attempts to realize. Goals are
important because they define the purpose of an organization. A plan is a blueprint for goal
achievement and specifies the necessary resource allocations, schedules, tasks, and other
actions. Goals specify future ends; plans specify today’s means. The word planning usually
incorporates both ideas; it means determining the organization’s goals and defining the
means for achieving them.

A. Levels of Goals and Plans Exhibit 7.1

1. Top managers are responsible for establishing strategic goals and plans that reflect a
commitment to both organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Tactical goals and
plans are the responsibility of middle managers. Operational plans identify the
specific procedures or processes needed at lower levels of the organization. Frontline
managers and supervisors develop operational plans that focus on specific tasks and
processes and that help meet tactical and strategic goals.

2. Planning at each level supports the other levels.

Discussion Question #5: A new business venture must develop a comprehensive business plan to
borrow money to get started. Companies such as FedEx and Nike say they did not follow the
original plan closely. Does that mean that developing the plan was a waste of time for these
eventually successful companies?

NOTES________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

B. The Organizational Planning Process Exhibit 7.2

1. The overall planning process prevents managers from thinking merely in terms of
day-to-day activities.

2. The planning process includes five steps: develop the plan; translate the plan into
action; lay out operational factors needed to achieve goals; execute the plan; and
monitor and review plans to learn from results and shift plans as needed.

II. GOAL-SETTING IN ORGANIZATIONS

A. Organizational Mission Exhibit 7.3

© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. ,
except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
124 • Chapter 7

1. At the top of the goal hierarchy is the mission—the organization’s reason for
existence—that describes the organization’s values, aspirations, and reason for being.

2. The formal mission statement is a broadly stated definition of purpose that


distinguishes the organization from others of a similar type. The content often
focuses on the market and customers, and identifies desired fields of endeavor. Some
mission statements describe company characteristics such as corporate values,
product quality, location of facilities, and attitude toward employees.

B. Goals and Plans

1. Strategic goals are broad statements describing where the organization wants to be in
the future. Sometimes called official goals, they pertain to the entire organization
rather than to specific divisions or departments. Strategic plans define the action
steps by which the company intends to attain strategic goals. A strategic plan is a
blueprint that defines organizational activities and resource allocations. Strategic
planning tends to be long term.

2. Tactical goals are the results that major divisions and departments within the
organization intend to achieve. Tactical goals apply to middle management and
describe what major subunits must do for the organization to achieve its overall goals.
Tactical plans define what major departments and organizational subunits will do to
implement the organization’s strategic plan. They tend to be for a shorter time
period.

3. Operational goals are the specific results expected from departments, work groups,
and individuals. Operational plans are developed at the lower levels of the
organization to specify action plans toward achieving operational goals and to support
tactical plans.

C. Align Goals Using a Strategy Map Exhibit 7.4

1. Effectively designed organizational goals are aligned into a hierarchy in which the
achievement of goals at lower levels permits the attainment of higher-level goals.
Operational goals lead to the achievement of tactical goals, which lead to the
attainment of strategic goals. Organizational performance is an outcome of how well
these interdependent elements are aligned, so that individuals, teams, departments,
and so forth are working in concert to attain specific goals that ultimately help the
organization achieve high performance and fulfill its mission.

2. Strategy maps are visual representations of the key drivers of an organization’s


success and show how specific goals and plans in each area are linked. They provide
a powerful way for managers to see the cause-and-effect relationships among goals
and plans.

Discussion Question #3: One of the benefits of a strategy map is that goals and how they are
linked can be communicated clearly to everyone in the organization. Does a minimum-wage

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Planning and Goal Setting • 125

maintenance worker in a hospital really need to understand any goals beyond keeping the place
clean? Discuss.

NOTES________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

NEW MANAGER SELF-TEST: YOUR APPROACH TO STUDYING

A student’s approach to studying may be a predictor of his or her planning approach as a new
manager. An important part of a new manager’s job is to plan ahead, which involves grasping
the bigger picture. This exercise helps students identify their approaches to studying as being
focused on either the current details or the big picture.

III. OPERATIONAL PLANNING

A. Criteria for Effective Goals Exhibit 7.5

1. Specific and measurable. When possible, goals should be expressed in quantitative


terms. Vague goals tend not to motivate employees.

2. Defined time period. Goals should specify the time period over which they will be
achieved. A time period is a deadline on which goal attainment will be measured.

3. Cover key result areas. Key result areas are those items that contribute most to
company’s performance. Key result areas should include both internal and external
customers.

4. Challenging but realistic. The best quality programs start with extremely ambitious
goals that challenge employees to meet high standards. When goals are unrealistic,
they set employees up for failure and lead to decreasing employee morale. If goals
are too easy, employees may not feel motivated. Stretch goals are extremely
ambitious but realistic goals that challenge employees to meet high standards.

5. Linked to rewards. The impact of goals depends on the extent to which salary
increases, promotions, and other rewards are based on goal achievement. People who
attain goals should be rewarded.

B. Management by Objectives (MBO) Exhibit 7.6

1. Management by objectives (MBO) is a method whereby managers and employees


define objectives for every department, project, and person and use them to monitor
subsequent performance. Four major activities must occur in order for MBO to be
successful.

a. Set goals. Setting goals is the most difficult step in MBO and should involve
employees at all levels. A good goal should be concrete and realistic, provide a
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. ,
except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
126 • Chapter 7

specific target and time frame, and assign responsibility. Mutual agreement
between employee and supervisor creates the strongest commitment to achieving
goals.

b. Develop action plans. An action plan defines the course of action needed to
achieve the stated goals. Action plans are made for both individuals and
departments.

c. Review progress. A periodic progress review is important to ensure that action


plans are working. This review allows managers and employees to see if they are
on target and if corrective action is needed.

d. Appraise overall performance. The final step in MBO is to evaluate whether


annual goals have been achieved for both individuals and departments. Success
or failure to achieve goals can be part of the performance appraisal system and the
designation of salary increases and other rewards.
Exhibit 7.7

2. The benefits of the MBO process can be many. Corporate goals are more likely to be
achieved when they focus on manager and employee efforts. Problems with MBO
occur when the company faces rapid change. The environment and internal activities
must have some stability for performance to be measured against goals.

3. Management by means (MBM), focuses attention on the methods and processes


used to achieve goals. MBM is based on the idea that when managers pursue their
activities in the right way, positive outcomes will result. MBM focuses people on
considering the means rather than just on reaching the goals.

Discussion Question #4: The MBO technique has been criticized for putting too much emphasis
on achieving goals (ends) and not enough on the methods that people use to achieve them
(means). Do you think this is a flaw in the technique, or in the way managers apply it? How
would you place a balanced emphasis on ends and means?

NOTES_______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

C. Single-Use and Standing Plans Exhibit 7.8

1. Single-use plans are developed to achieve objectives that are not likely to be repeated
in the future. Single-use plans include both programs and projects.

2. Standing plans are used to provide guidance for tasks performed repeatedly within
the organization. The primary standing plans are organizational policies, rules, and
procedures. Many companies are discovering a need to develop standing plans
regarding the use of social media.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Planning and Goal Setting • 127

Discussion Question #1: What strategic plans could the college or university at which you are
taking this management course adopt to compete for students in the marketplace? Would these
plans depend on the school’s goals?

NOTES_______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

IV. BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF PLANNING

A. Benefits of Planning

1. Goals and plans provide a source of motivation and commitment. Planning can
reduce uncertainty for employees and clarify what they should accomplish.

2. Goals and plans guide resource allocation. Planning helps managers decide where
they need to allocate resources, such as employees, money, and equipment.

3. Goals and plans are a guide to action. Planning focuses attention on specific targets
and directs employee efforts toward important outcomes.

4. Goals and plans set a standard of performance. Because planning and goal setting
define desired outcomes, they also establish performance criteria so managers can
measure whether things are on or off track.

B. Limitations of Planning

1. Goals and plans can create a false sense of certainty. Having a plan can give
managers a false sense that they know what the future will be like.

2. Goals and plans may cause rigidity in a turbulent environment. A related problem is
that planning can lock the organization into specific goals, plans, and time frames,
which may no longer be appropriate.

3. Goals and plans can get in the way of intuition and creativity. Success often comes
from creativity and intuition, which can be hampered by too much routine planning.

V. PLANNING FOR A TURBULENT ENVIRONMENT

A. Contingency Planning

1. Contingency plans define company responses to be taken in the case of emergencies


or setbacks. Contingency plans cover such situations as catastrophic decreases in
sales or prices, and loss of important managers.

© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. ,
except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
128 • Chapter 7

2. Managers forecast a range of alternative responses to the most likely high-impact


contingencies, focusing on the worst case.

Discussion Question #7: Assume that Southern University decides to (1) raise its admission
standards and (2) initiate a business fair to which local townspeople will be invited. What types
of plans might it use to carry out these two activities?

NOTES________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

B. Building Scenarios

1. Scenario building involves looking at current trends and discontinuities and


imagining possible alternative futures to build a framework with which unexpected
future events can be managed.

2. With scenario building, a broad base of managers mentally rehearses different


scenarios based on anticipating the varied changes that could impact the organization.
Scenarios are like stories that offer alternative vivid pictures of what the future will
look like and how managers will respond. Typically, two to five scenarios are
developed for each set of factors, ranging from the most optimistic to the most
pessimistic view.

C. Crisis Planning Exhibit 7.9

1. Crisis Prevention

a. Although unexpected events and disasters will happen, managers should do


everything they can to prevent crises. A critical part of the prevention stage is
building trusting relationships with key stakeholders such as employees,
customers, suppliers, governments, unions, and the community.

b. By developing favorable relationships, managers can often prevent crises from


happening and respond more effectively to those that cannot be avoided. Good
communication helps managers identify problems early so they do not turn into
major issues.

2. Crisis Preparation

a. Preparation includes designating a crisis management team and spokesperson,


creating a detailed crisis management plan, and setting up an effective
communications system. Some companies are setting up crisis management
offices, with high-level leaders who report direction to the CEO.

b. The crisis management team is a cross-functional group of people who are


designated to swing into action if a crisis occurs. They are closely involved in

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Planning and Goal Setting • 129

creating the crisis management plan they will implement if a crisis occurs. A
spokesperson should be designated.

c. The crisis management plan is a detailed written plan that specifies the steps to be
taken, and by whom, if a crisis occurs. The plan should include the steps for
dealing with various types of crises, such as natural disasters like fires or
earthquakes, normal accidents like economic crises or industrial accidents, and
abnormal events such as product tampering or acts of terrorism. The plan should
be a living, changing document that is regularly reviewed, practiced, and updated
as needed.

Discussion Question #2: From the information provided in the chapter example, identify how
Western Digital Thailand used both the prevention and the preparation stages of crisis planning.

NOTES_______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Discussion Question #9: Some people say an organization could never be “prepared” for a
disaster such as the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Japan nuclear disaster, or
the huge BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Discuss the potential value of crisis planning in
situations like these, even if the situations are difficult to plan for.

NOTES_______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Discussion Question #6: How do you think planning in today’s organizations compares to
planning 25 years ago? Do you think planning becomes more important or less important in a
world where everything is changing fast and crises are a regular part of organizational life?
Why?

NOTES________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

VI. INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO PLANNING

Decentralized planning means that planning experts work with managers in major divisions or
departments to develop their own goals and plans. Managers throughout the company come up
with their own creative solutions to problems and become more committed to following
through on the plans

A. Set Stretch Goals for Excellence

© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. ,
except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
130 • Chapter 7

1. Stretch goals are reasonable yet highly ambitious goals that are so clear, compelling,
and imaginative that they fire up employees and engender excellence.

2. They are typically so far beyond the current levels that people have to be innovative
to find ways to reach them.

a. An extension of the stretch goal is the big hairy audacious goal or BHAG.

b. A BHAG is any goal that is so big, inspiring, and outside the prevailing paradigm
that it hits people in the gut and shifts their thinking.

B. Use Performance Dashboards Exhibit 7.10

1. A business performance dashboard is a visual display that helps executives keep


track of key performance metrics, such as sales in relation to targets, number of
products on back order, or percentage of customer service calls resolved within
specified time periods.

2. Some dashboard systems incorporate software that lets users perform what-if
scenarios to evaluate the impact of various alternatives for meeting goals.

C. Deploy Intelligence Teams

1. An intelligence team is a cross-functional group of managers and employees, usually


led by a competitive intelligence professional, who work together to gain a deep
understanding of a specific business issue, with the aim of presenting insights,
possibilities and recommendations about goals and plans related to that issue.

2. Intelligence teams are useful when the organization confronts a major intelligence
challenge.

Discussion Question #8: LivingSocial started with one “daily deal,” a $25 voucher for $50
worth of food at a Washington D.C., area restaurant. Since then, the company has grown at
breakneck speed, has 46 million members in 25 countries, and has acquired a dozen companies
that offer related deals and services. Why and how might a company such as LivingSocial want
to use an intelligence team? Discuss.

NOTES_______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Discussion Question #10: Goals that are overly ambitious can discourage employees and
decrease motivation, yet the idea of stretch goals is proposed as a way to get people fired up and
motivated. As a manager, how might you decide where to draw the line between a “good”
stretch goal and a “bad” one that is unrealistic?

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Planning and Goal Setting • 131

NOTES________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Suggested Answers to End-of-Chapter Discussion Questions


1. What strategic plans could the college or university at which you are taking this management
course adopt to compete for students in the marketplace? Would these plans depend on the
school’s goals?

Yes, strategies will depend on the school’s goals. For example, if a university adopted a goal
of increasing the number of merit scholars who enroll each year from 50 to 60, then
strategies could be to send letters to merit scholars, schedule visits of university
representatives at the schools, or offer scholarships to entice the students to attend the
university. If the goal is simply to increase the number of students, administrators could
determine what attracts students to the university and attempt to adopt strategies related to
them. The strategies might include the implementation of highly visible programs such as
changing tuition rates, building additional dormitories, or striving to field a winning football
team.

2. From the information provided in the chapter example, identify how Western Digital
Thailand used both the prevention and the preparation stages of crisis planning.

• Crisis prevention stage involves activities that managers undertake to try to prevent
crises A critical part of the prevention stage is building open, trusting relationships.
Company leaders worked alongside engineers and front line employees, even
taking personal risks by engaging in diving operations. Good relationships with
customers meant some agreed to special provisions that deviated from normal
contract agreements. A few days before the disaster, they pulled some inventory
from the just-in-time (JIT) process at nearby warehouses and moved it to a safer
location.

▪ Crisis preparation includes detailed planning to handle a crisis when it occurs. The
company had a process in place for speeding up supplier qualification in case new
suppliers were needed. The crisis budget included funding for smaller suppliers
for rebuilding or relocating production lines. Strong relationships with employees,
customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders helped significantly. More than 500
Western Digital employees, including all of its senior managers, returned to work
during the peak flood period. Within a week, operations to recover and restore
equipment were underway. To limit the potential for overreaction and confusion
among customers, suppliers, and shareholders, all formal communications were
handled by headquarters in the United States

© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. ,
except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
132 • Chapter 7

3. One of the benefits of a strategy map is that goals and how they are linked can be clearly
communicated to everyone in the organization. Does a minimum-wage maintenance worker
in a hospital really need to understand any goals beyond keeping the place clean? Discuss.

A strategy map helps the minimum-wage maintenance worker understand how the process
goal of keeping the place clean contributes to achieving goals for customer service and
satisfaction, and how achieving customer service and satisfaction goals contribute to
achieving financial goals that help the company optimize its value to all stakeholders,
including the minimum-wage maintenance worker. Research supports the notion that
employees work harder and find more meaning in their work when they understand how their
jobs fit into the bigger picture of the organization’s goals.

4. The MBO technique has been criticized for putting too much emphasis on achieving goals
(ends) and not enough on the methods that people use to achieve them (means). Do you think
this is a flaw in the technique, or in the way managers apply it? How would you place a
balanced emphasis on ends and means?

Management by objectives (MBO) is a system whereby managers and employees define


objectives for every department, project, and person and use them to monitor subsequent
performance. Goals should be derived jointly which can be achieved by the mutual agreement
between employee and supervisor, The success of MBO depends on various factors like the
implementation of action plans, a periodic progress review and performance appraisal system

Corporate goals are more likely to be achieved when they focus manager and employee
efforts. Problems with MBO occur when the company faces rapid change. The environment
and internal activities must have some stability for performance to be measured against goals.

5. A new business venture must develop a comprehensive business plan to borrow money to get
started. Companies such as FedEx and Nike say they did not follow the original plan closely.
Does that mean that developing the plan was a waste of time for these eventually successful
companies?

No, it was not a waste of time for these companies. Developing a business plan also helps a
company consider all aspects of the business. For example, an inventor may come up with a
neat new product and not consider where or how to market it. He may not consider financing
either. Developing a business plan helps the company devise options not previously
considered. Even if the plan is not followed exactly, it provides many other benefits.

6. How do you think planning in today’s organizations compares to planning 25 years ago? Do
you think planning becomes more important or less important in a world where everything is
changing fast and crises are a regular part of organizational life? Why?

Planning is much more difficult in today’s organizations than it was 25 years ago due to
increased economic and political uncertainty as a result of globalization, an ever-increasing
rate of technological change, and increased competition in many industries. On the other
hand, greater ease of communication among business components, along with increased
ability to track internal and external activities, resulting from technological advances also
make it easier to anticipate and plan for future events that it was 25 years ago.
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Planning and Goal Setting • 133

Planning becomes more important in a world where everything changes quickly and crises are
a regular part of organizational life due to rapidly changing environmental conditions. There
is a greater need for flexibility and adaptability to meet each situation. Managers must
become even more proactive in anticipating these changing conditions in the marketplace.
Planning is important for the firm to recognize changing conditions and restructure the
organization to create more effective strategies to remain competitive.

7. Assume that Southern University decides to: (1) raise its admission standards, and (2) initiate
a business fair to which local townspeople will be invited. What types of plans might it use to
carry out these two activities?

Raising admission standards would require a standing plan to provide guidance for
admissions performed repeatedly over the next several semesters. Within the concept of a
standing plan, the university may use policies, procedures, or rules to enforce the new
admission standards. A policy would define admission standards, in general, and procedures
would describe how to admit students under the new policy. Specific rules might also be
established for specifying exactly what action to take in specific admission situations.

Initiating a business fair would probably require a single-use plan. The single-use plan
develops a set of objectives that will not be repeated in the future. The business fair would
probably be considered a project, for which participants would develop a set of short-term
objectives and plans to achieve the one-time goal.

8. LivingSocial started with one “daily deal,” a $25 voucher for $50 worth of food at a
Washington D.C., area restaurant. Since then, the company has grown at breakneck speed,
has 46 million members in 25 countries, and has acquired a dozen companies that offer
related deals and services. Why and how might a company such as LivingSocial want to use
an intelligence team? Discuss.

An intelligence team is a cross-functional group of managers and employees, usually led by a


competitive intelligence professional, who work together to gain a deep understanding of a
specific business issue, with the aim of presenting insights, possibilities and
recommendations about goals and plans related to that issue. Intelligence teams are useful
when the organization confronts a major intelligence challenge. Such teams can provide
insights that help managers to make more informed decisions about goals and devise
contingency plans and scenarios related to major strategic issues.

9. Some people say an organization could never be “prepared” for a disaster such as the
shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Japan nuclear disaster, or the huge BP oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Discuss the potential value of crisis planning in situations like
these, even if the situations are difficult to plan for.

The crisis management plan is a detailed written plan that specifies the steps to be taken, and
by whom, if a crisis occurs. The plan should include the steps for dealing with various types
of crises, such as natural disasters like fires or earthquakes, normal accidents like economic
crises or industrial accidents, and abnormal events such as product tampering or acts of
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except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
134 • Chapter 7

terrorism. The plan should be a living, changing document that is regularly reviewed,
practiced, and updated as needed.

A carefully thought-out and coordinated plan can be used to respond to any disaster. In
addition, crisis planning reduces the incidence of trouble, much like putting a good lock on a
door reduces burglaries.

10. Goals that are overly ambitious can discourage employees and decrease motivation, yet the
idea of stretch goals is proposed as a way to get people fired up and motivated. As a
manager, how might you decide where to draw the line between a “good” stretch goal and a
“bad” one that is unrealistic?

Stretch goals are extremely ambitious but realistic goals that challenge employees to meet
high standards. Stretch goals get people to think in new ways because they are so far beyond
the current levels that people don’t know how to reach them. A big hairy audacious goal is a
goal that is so big, inspiring, and outside the prevailing paradigm that it creates a shift in
people’s thinking. In determining whether it makes sense to pursue a stretch goal, the
primary considerations would be the need to cause people to think in new ways that can lead
to bold, innovative breakthroughs.

Apply Your Skills: Experiential Exercise


Business School Ranking

This exercise enables students to brainstorm about how to improve their own business schools.
Students should develop ten-point plans to improve their schools, then meet in small groups of
three or four to share their ideas and select the most helpful action steps that will be part of a
final action plan that could be recommended to the deans of their schools.

Apply Your Skills: Small Group Breakout


Course Goal Setting

This exercise asks students to make their goals for themselves regarding desired outcomes for
this course explicit. This should include goals for grades and for learning specific knowledge or
skills. Students should break their goals down into goal behaviors, and then compare their goals
and goal behaviors in groups. Students then discuss their success with their goals and goal
behaviors on the last day of class.

Apply Your Skills: Ethical Dilemma


Inspire Learning Corporation

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Planning and Goal Setting • 135

1. Donate the $1,000 to Central High, and consider the $10,000 bonus a good return on your
investment.

This option will give the appearance of paying Central High to purchase the company’s
product in order to get the bonus. It is unethical if not illegal, and should absolutely not be
undertaken.

2. Accept the fact you didn’t quite make your sales goal this year. Figure out ways to work
smarter next year to increase the odds of achieving your target.

There is no reason Marge should accept defeat in achieving her sales goal without trying to
do something. There may be some other way for Central High to get the $1,000 it needs to
purchase the software without Marge donating it, so she should aggressively investigate other
ethical ways for that to happen.

3. Don’t make the donation, but investigate whether any other ways are available to help
Central High raise the funds that would allow them to purchase the much-needed
educational software.

This is the best option. Although time is short, she may be able to uncover some other
ethical means for Central High to come up with the funds they need. If she can figure
something out, the school will get its much-needed software, and Marge will make her sales
goal and get the bonus. The key is in helping the school find a way to raise the money
legitimately rather than donating the money herself.

Apply Your Skills: Case for Critical Analysis


Central City Museum

1. What goal or mission for the Central City Museum do you personally prefer? As director,
would you try to implement your preferred direction? Explain.

I would prefer that the Central City Museum be a major community resource rather than
being exclusive for the elite. It should have lively contemporary exhibits too. A section of the
museum could be given for training Ph.D. level students. As a director, I would like to
implement my preferred direction as it is the most cohesive and holistic goal for the museum.

2. How would you resolve the underlying conflicts among key stakeholders about museum
direction and goals? What action would you take?

I would resolve the conflict among key stakeholders by uniting them toward a shared goal
and get people to collaborate and cooperate for the larger good. I would build a coalition to
support them too.

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136 • Chapter 7

3. Review the Manager’s Shoptalk on page 222. Do you think that building a coalition and
working out stakeholder differences in goal preferences is an important part of a manager’s
job? Why?

Building a coalition and working out stakeholder differences in goal preferences is an


important part of a manager’s job as a manager can learn who believes in and supports a
goal, and who opposes it. It is also important for pursuing goals of quick growth and higher
profit margins.

On the Job Video Case Answers


Mi Ola Swimwear: Managerial Planning and Goal Setting

1 Based on how this business owner describes her business, write a one- or two-sentence
organizational mission statement for Mi Ola Swimwear.

Answers will vary. Mi Ola Swimwear makes fashionable yet functional garments for water
sports’ enthusiasts
.
2 Pick four of the following six categories: strategic goal, strategic plan, tactical goal, tactical
plan, operational goal, and operational plan. Then, in the video, find one example to
represent each of the four categories you’ve chosen. Describe your four examples and how
they fit their respective categories in your answer.

• Strategic goals are broad statements of where the organization wants to be in the future
and pertain to the organization as a whole,. Mi Ola wants to make fashionable yet well-
fitting swimwear for surfers and others who engage in water sports and expand its
business.

• Strategic plans are the action steps by which an organization intends to attain strategic
goals. Mi Ola plans to seek investors to have enough funding in place to expand the
design, production, sales, and advertising capabilities for its swimwear.

• The outcomes that major divisions and departments must achieve for the organization to
reach its overall goals are tactical goals. Tactical goals include hiring planners, financial
consultants, inventory managers, web designers and others to carry out some of the
functions carried out by the Mi Ola’s founder.

• Tactical plans are designed to help execute major strategic plans and to accomplish a
specific part of the company’s strategy. Mi Ola’s founder has developed a written plan to
attract investors who want to know what the financial projections are for the company
before committing funds.

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Planning and Goal Setting • 137

3 What did you learn about some of the real benefits and limitations of planning by watching
this video?

• Benefits of Planning

Goals and plans guide resource allocation. By planning the inventory and deciding how
many swimsuits will be produced in each of the four sizes, Mi Ola’s founder can decide
how to allocate resources appropriately.

Goals and plans are a guide to action. Planning focuses attention on specific targets.
Fashion is seasonal, and Mi Ola has to plan ahead in order to produce samples of the
upcoming collection of swimwear.

Goals and plans set a standard of performance. Mi Ola’s collection is comprised of 21


styles and 12 colors of swimsuits. This level of variety sets a creative standard for each
upcoming collection.

• Limitations of Planning

Goals and plans can create a false sense of certainty. Mi Ola plans and produces
inventory. However, the number of swimsuits in each color and in each size that will sell
is an unknown. All planning is based on assumptions, and managers at Mi Ola can’t
know what the future holds for their industry or for their competitors, suppliers, and
customers.

Goals and plans may cause rigidity in a turbulent environment. Planning can lock Mi Ola
into specific goals, plans, and time frames that may result in a loss of revenue. If there is
an unforeseen natural disaster, surfing may be drastically curtailed, and Mi Ola could
face reduced sales and revenue coupled with excess inventory.

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except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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make their way back to their masters. This report is a specimen of the
740
arguments which compelled Ministers to some measure of caution.
There is, however, abundant proof that Pitt, though a recent recruit
to the movement, espoused it with enthusiasm. During the difficult
negotiations with France in the autumn of 1787, we find Wilberforce
informing Eden, our envoy at Paris, of Pitt’s interest in the endeavour
to stop the Slave Trade, a matter which would be greatly facilitated if
741
France would agree to take the same step. On 2nd November Pitt
followed up his friend’s letter by another appeal to Eden to induce the
French Government “to discontinue the villainous traffic now carried on
742
in Africa.” The following letter, hitherto unpublished, from Pitt to
Eden, further shows his hope that Eden, who was soon to take the
embassy at Madrid, would be able to influence that Court also:

743
Downing Street, Dec. 7, 1787.
Mr. Wilberforce has communicated to me your last letter
respecting the African business. The more I reflect upon it, the
more anxious and impatient I am that the business should be
brought as speedily as possible to a point; that, if the real
difficulties of it can be overcome, it may not suffer from the
prejudices and interested objections which will multiply during the
discussion. Of course it cannot yet be ripe for any official
communication; and when you transmit the memorandum, which I
see you were to draw up, I hope it will be quite secret for the
present. If you see any chance of success in France, I hope you
will lay your ground as soon as possible with a view to Spain also.
I am considering what to do in Holland, but the course of business
there makes the secrecy, which is necessary at least for a time,
more difficult.

The reply of the French Government in January 1788 was


discouraging. Montmorin and his colleagues avowed their sympathy
with the cause, but, fearing that it would not succeed in England,
744
refused to commit themselves. The advent of Necker to power in
745
August aroused Pitt’s hopes; but he too temporized, thereby
prejudicing the success of the cause in these islands. Spain refused to
stir in the matter.
Meanwhile Wilberforce had given notice of a motion on the subject,
but a severe illness in February and March 1788 left him in a state of
weakness which precluded the least effort. Before leaving for Bath, he
begged Pitt to bring forward the motion for him. The Prime Minister
consented, says Wilberforce, “with a warmth of principle and friendship
that have made me love him better than I ever did before.”
Nevertheless he acted with caution. Up to the beginning of the year
1788, at least, he had not brought the matter before the Cabinet,
probably because he knew that most of its members would oppose
him. In the country also a formidable opposition was arising, and, as
usually happens in such cases, enthusiasts clamoured at delay as
746
treason to the cause. Perhaps it was this which led him to request a
conference with Sharp. It took place on 21st April, and is thus reported
in the Minutes of the Committee:

He [Granville Sharp] had a full opportunity of explaining that


the desire of the Committee went to a full abolition of the Slave
Trade. Mr. Pitt assured him that his heart was with us, and that he
considered himself pledged to Mr. Wilberforce that the cause
should not sustain any injury from his indisposition; but at the
same time that the subject was of great political importance, and it
was requisite to proceed in the business with temper and
prudence. He did not apprehend, as the examination before the
Privy Council would yet take up some time, that the subject could
be fully investigated in the present session of Parliament, but said
he would consider whether the forms of the House would admit of
any measures that would be obligatory on them to take it up early
747
in the ensuing session.

On 9th May Pitt brought his motion before the House, but pending
the conclusion of the official inquiry, he offered no opinion on the
subject, for which he was sharply twitted by Fox and Burke. His
conduct was far from pleasing to the more ardent spirits. One of them,
the venerable Sir William Dolben, member for the University of Oxford,
after inspecting a slave-ship in the Thames, determined to lose no time
in alleviating the misery of the many living cargoes that crossed the
ocean. He therefore brought in a Bill for temporarily regulating the
transport of slaves in British ships. In the course of the discussions Pitt
declared that, even though the proposed regulations involved the trade
in ruin, as was maintained, he would nevertheless vote for them; and if
the trade could not be regulated, he would vote for its abolition as
“shocking to humanity, abominable to be carried on by any country,
and which reflected the greatest dishonour on the British Senate and
the British nation.” He further startled the House by proposing that the
regulations should become operative from that day—10th June. The
hold which he had on members was shown by the division, fifty-six
voting for the measure and only five against it. In the Upper House no
minister save the Duke of Richmond ventured to defend this unusual
enactment; and the Chancellor, Thurlow, spoke strongly against it.
Sydney also opposed it, though with moderation (25th June). Pitt’s
feelings when he heard of their action are shown in a phrase of his
letter to Grenville, dated Cambridge, 29th June, that if the Bill failed he
and the opposers would not remain members of the same Cabinet.
This declaration does honour to his heart and his judgement. It proves
the warmth of his feelings on the subject and his sense of the need of
discipline in the Cabinet. Had the measure failed to pass the Lords, a
Cabinet crisis of the gravest kind would have arisen. As it was,
however, the great efforts put forth by Pitt among his friends sufficed to
carry the day against Thurlow by a majority of two. We catch a glimpse
of what an average man thought of this incident in the pages of
Wraxall. After adverting to the nobility of Pitt’s motives and the strength
of Thurlow’s arguments against the retrospective action of the Bill, the
chronicler thus passes judgement: “Thurlow argued as a statesman,
Pitt acted as a moralist.” We also have the warrant of Wraxall for
stating that, not until George III gave his assent to the measure, did
748
Pitt “allow” him to prorogue Parliament.
Ship-owners and slave-owners had, however, been driven only
from the first outwork of their citadel, and had time to strengthen their
defences before the matter came up again in 1789. After a delay,
caused by the King’s malady and by the length of the inquiry into the
Slave Trade by a committee of the Privy Council, Wilberforce brought
the question before the House on 12th May in one of the ablest and
most eloquent speeches of that age. For three and a half hours he
held the attention of the House as he recounted the horrors which
slave-hunting spread through Africa, and the hell of suffering of the
middle passage. He showed how legitimate trade would increase with
the growth of confidence between man and man in that Continent, and
he asserted that the sympathies of King Louis XVI, Necker, and the
French nation would probably lead that country to follow our example
in abolishing a traffic degrading to all concerned in it. He then proved
from official information concerning the slaves in our West India
islands, that wise treatment of them and suppression of vice would
ensure a sufficient increase of population to meet the needs of the
planters. He concluded by moving twelve resolutions setting forth the
facts of the case as detailed in the Report of the Privy Council. This
mode of procedure earned general approval. Burke bestowed his
blessing on the proposal (for such it was in effect) to abolish so hateful
a traffic. Pitt gave the measure his warm approval, but stated that he
was prepared to give a hearing to all objections. One such he noticed,
namely, that foreign nations would step in and secretly supply our West
India islands with slaves. He declared that Great Britain was strong
enough to prevent so insidious a device; but he hoped, rather, that
other peoples would desire to share in the honour of abolishing the
trade; and we might confidently negotiate with them to that end, or wait
for the effect which our example would produce. Fox followed in the
same strain, and prophesied that France would soon “catch a spark
from our fire and run a race with us in promoting the ends of
749
humanity.”
But these unanswerable arguments were of no avail against
shippers, slave-owners, and colonial traders. In vain did Wilberforce
point out that the prosperity of Liverpool did not depend upon the Slave
Trade; for the tonnage of the slave-ships was only one-fifteenth of that
of the whole port. Liverpool saw nothing but ruin ahead; and it must be
admitted that that class of traffic was then by far the most lucrative to
the growing city on the Mersey. It has been computed that in the
decade 1783–93, Liverpool slave-ships made 878 “round voyages”
(i.e. from Liverpool to the Guinea Coast, thence to the West Indies,
and back to the Mersey), carried 303,737 slaves and sold them for
750
£15,186,850. It is not surprising, then, that Clarkson was mobbed
when he went there to collect evidence as to the terrible mortality of
751
our seamen engaged in the trade, and was known to be purchasing
“mouth-openers,” those ingenious devices by which slavers forced
open the mouths of those of their victims who sought release by
voluntary starvation. Bristol, though it had only eighteen ships in the
trade, was also up in arms; for it depended largely on the refining of
sugar and the manufacture of rum. Even the veteran reformer,
Alderman Sawbridge, foresaw ruin for his constituency, the City of
London, if the trade were further interfered with. Persons of a rhetorical
turn depicted in lurid colours the decay of Britain’s mercantile marine,
the decline of her wealth, and the miseries of a sugar famine. Others
sought to frighten the timid by declaring that, as shippers and planters
had embarked large sums of money in the trade in reliance on
Parliament, they were entitled to absolutely full compensation for the
heavy losses which must result from its abolition or further
752
curtailment. In short, all the menaces, based on assumed legal
rights, were set forth with vehemence and pertinacity.
The result was seen in the increasing acrimony of the opponents of
abolition in Parliament. They poured scorn on the evidence adduced
before the Privy Council in a way which brought from Pitt a sharp
retort, but they insisted, and with success, on the hearing of evidence
at the bar of the House. These dilatory tactics protracted the
discussion until it was necessary to postpone it to the next year.
Before the end of the session of 1789 an important change came
about in the Cabinet. Sydney had long disagreed with Pitt respecting
the Slave Trade, and therefore, early in June, offered his resignation.
There could be but one opinion as to his successor. William Wyndham
Grenville had long shown high capacity both in diplomatic affairs and
more recently in his conduct of the Speakership of the House. His
speech on the trade marked him out as a strong supporter of Pitt; and
on 5th June he became Secretary of State for Home Affairs with a seat
in the Cabinet. His accession was a gain for the Administration and a
further source of strength for Pitt, who had long felt great confidence in
753
his judgement and tact. Henry Addington, son of the physician who
long attended the first Earl of Chatham, was chosen Speaker of the
House of Commons by a large majority over the Whig nominee, Sir
Gilbert Elliot.
One other change ought to have taken place. The language used
by Lord Thurlow against Pitt had long been petulant, and his irritation
against the abolitionists led him to strange lengths in the summer of
754
1789. Their differences caused an almost complete rupture. But, for
the present, Pitt could not insist on his resignation. On the question
755
now at issue George III agreed with Thurlow. He also seems to
have been quite unaware of the shifty course adopted by the
Chancellor at the beginning of his late malady and believed him to be
thoroughly devoted to his person. It argues no small amount of self-
restraint and honourable reticence in Pitt that he should have taken no
steps to inform the King of the meditated defection of Thurlow. George
III therefore continued to believe in the whole hearted devotion of the
Lord Chancellor; and on two occasions during the year 1789 he wrote
to Pitt expressing his desire that the two Ministers should endeavour to
756
work together cordially for the good of the realm. It is consonant
with what we know of Thurlow’s character that he presumed on the
King’s partiality towards him, and played the part of the one necessary
man in a way highly exasperating to Pitt. But the precarious state of
the King’s health and his known dislike of dismissing old servants
availed to postpone the inevitable rupture until the year 1792. The
retention of Thurlow may be considered one of the causes of the
failure of the abolitionists at this time.
In the spring of the year 1790 the champions of the Slave Trade
believed that they saw signs of waning enthusiasm on the part of the
public, and on 23rd April sought to stop the further examination of
witnesses at the bar of the House. Wilberforce, Fox, and Pitt protested
against these tactics, but Pitt intimated that he did not consider the
question one which Ministers were pledged to support. The case for a
free and full inquiry was overwhelming, and it was continued. That Pitt
acted in close connection with Fox on this whole question appears by
his letter to Wilberforce on 22nd April, which further shows that he also
considered the evidence so voluminous and important as to afford little
757
hope of the question being disposed of in that session.
This was most unfortunate. The friends of abolition never had a
better opportunity than in the early part of 1790. Later on in that year
the risk of war with Spain (see Chapter XXIV) and the prospect of a
revolt of the slaves in the French West Indies began to turn Britons
against a measure which, they were told, would weaken the mercantile
marine and lead to the loss of the West Indies. In this case, as in many
others, the influence of the French Revolution militated against the
cause of steady reform in England. The National Assembly had early
declared the principle of freedom of the slaves in the French colonies;
but owing to the violent opposition of the planters and merchants, the
decree remained a dead letter. In the spring of 1790 the question came
up once more; but again the majority sought to shelve the question.
Lord Robert Stephen Fitzgerald, the British envoy at Paris,
commended the prudence and self-restraint of the Assembly “in not
agitating the two great questions concerning the emancipation of the
negroes and the abolition of the Slave Trade, which had at the first
758
setting out raised so violent a spirit of party.” The planters and West
India merchants still threatened that the Colonial Assemblies
(established in the year 1787) would declare their independence if
those decrees were passed, on the ground that they were not bound
by the acts of the French Assembly. Mirabeau, along with all practical
statesmen, forebore from pressing the point; and it is highly probable
that the politic caution of the French reformers, despite their sensibility
and enthusiasm, told upon public opinion in England.
Such were the discouraging conditions amidst which a General
Election was held in the summer of 1790. It increased Pitt’s hold on the
House of Commons; but, as he had refrained from making the Slave
Trade a ministerial question, the result did not imply the victory of
abolition. In the month of November he took a step which furthered the
prospects of the cause. He recommended Grenville for the peerage as
Baron Grenville, partly in recognition of his services, but mainly
because he needed a trusty friend and capable debater in the Upper
House as a check on Thurlow. He assured Wilberforce that distrust of
the Lord Chancellor was the true reason that prompted the transfer of
759
Grenville to the Lords. We find Pitt writing on 24th November 1790
to his mother in high spirits. He hoped for great things from Grenville in
the Upper House. As for “prophets of schisms,” they would be refuted.
The opening of the new Parliament would find the Ministry in “more
strength than has belonged to us since the beginning of the
760
Government.”
The question came before Parliament on 18th and 19th April 1791,
when Wilberforce in a masterly way summarized the official evidence
and moved for leave to bring in a Bill abolishing the Slave Trade. Some
of the arguments on the other side were curious. Grosvenor admitted
that the trade was an “unamiable” one, but he declined to “gratify his
humanity at the expense of the interests of his country, and thought we
should not too curiously inquire into the unpleasant circumstances with
which it was perhaps attended.” Less finnikin was the objection raised
by Lord John Russell and others, that, if we suppressed the trade,
France, Spain, and Holland would step in to take it up. This and the
question of vested interests formed the only reply to Wilberforce, Fox,
and Pitt. The Prime Minister declared that he had never been more
interested in the fate of any proposal than the present one. He brushed
aside the pleas of opponents, as wholly untenable, “unless gentlemen
will in the first place prove to me that there are no laws of morality
binding upon nations, and that it is no duty of a Legislature to restrain
its subjects from invading the happiness of other countries and from
violating the fundamental principles of justice.” He then proved from
the statistics then available that the numbers of the slaves in the West
Indies would under proper treatment increase in such a degree as to
supply the labour needed for the plantations, without bringing ruin
upon Africa. But argument and reasoning were useless. Mammon
761
carried the day by 163 to 88.
The events of the year 1791 further depressed the hopes of
philanthropists. After much wobbling on the subject the National
Assembly of France passed a decree liberating the slaves in French
colonies, and granting to them the full rights of citizenship (15th May).
The results were disastrous. Already there had been serious trouble in
the French West Indies, owing to the progress of democratic ideas
among the mulattos and slaves; and the news that they were
thenceforth politically the equals of planters and merchants, who had
ever resisted their claims, led to terrible risings of the slaves, especially
in the west of St. Domingo, where plantations and cities felt the blind
fury of their revenge. By the end of the year the most flourishing colony
762
of France was a wreck.
The heedless haste of French reformers worked ruin far and wide.
Extremes are fatal to the happy mean; for the populace rarely takes
the trouble to distinguish between reckless innovation and the healing
of a palpable grievance. Among the unfortunate results of the French
Revolution not the least was the tendency to extremes of feeling
produced by it in France and all neighbouring peoples. Those who
approved its doctrines generally became giddy with enthusiasm; those
who disapproved turned livid with hatred. Burke in his “Reflections on
the French Revolution” had lately set the example of treating the whole
subject in a crusading spirit. The flood of sentimentality, unloosed by
that attractive work, was now near high-water mark; and for a space
the age of chivalry seemed about to return.
The news of the horrors at St. Domingo came opportunely to
double the force of his prophecies. The cause of the slaves suffered
763
untold harm. Any change in existing customs was dubbed treason
to the Commonwealth. Men did not stop to contrast the rash methods
of the Amis des Noirs with those advocated by Pitt. Still less did they
ask how the stoppage of the importation of infuriated negroes into the
West Indian colonies, and the more humane treatment of those who
were there, could lead to a servile revolt. Wilberforce was fain to
exclaim that nothing was so cruel as sensibility. His campaign against
the Slave Trade made little or no progress in the early part of 1792.
“People here,” he wrote, “are all panic-struck with the transactions in
St. Domingo and the apprehension, or pretended apprehension, of the
like in Jamaica.” Many friends advised him to postpone all further
action for a year until the panic was over. Among these was Pitt, so we
may judge from the curt reference of Wilberforce to what went on at an
informal committee meeting on the subject: “Pitt threw out against
Slave motion, on St. Domingo account.” He also speaks of a
slackening of their cordiality.
The folly of Clarkson in advocating Jacobinical ideas at a meeting
held at the Crown and Anchor in the Strand further damaged the
cause. Nevertheless, detestation of the Slave Trade was still very
keen. Friends of the slaves began to forswear sugar and take to
honey. Petitions against the traffic in human flesh poured in at St.
Stephen’s; and those who spoke of delay were held to be backsliders.
This is the sense which we must attach to a phrase in a letter sent to
Wilberforce: “From London to Inverness Mr. Pitt’s sincerity is
questioned, and unless he can convince the nation of his cordiality in
764
our cause, his popularity must suffer greatly.” The questioning was
needless. Pitt considered the time inopportune for bringing the motion
before a Parliament which had already rejected it. When, however,
Wilberforce persisted, he gave him his enthusiastic support.
The debate of 2nd April 1792 was remarkable in more ways than
one. The opponents of the measure now began to shift their ground.
Colonel Tarleton, member for Liverpool, continued to harp on the ruin
that must befall his town; but others, notably Dundas, and the Speaker
(Addington) admitted the evils of the trade, and the probability that in a
few years the needs of the planters might be met from the negro
population already in the islands. Dundas therefore moved an
amendment in favour of a “moderate” reform, or a “gradual” reform.
Fox manfully castigated this proposal, which assumed that there might
be moderation in murder. Nevertheless Jenkinson (the future Earl of
Liverpool) made a trimming speech in favour of regulating, not
abolishing, the trade.
Pitt then arose. The rays of dawn were already lighting up the
windows on the east when he began his memorable speech. First, he
expressed his satisfaction that members were generally agreed as to
the abolition of the traffic being only a question of time. Mankind would
therefore before long be delivered “from the severest and most
extensive calamity recorded in the history of the world.” Grappling with
the arguments of Jenkinson and Dundas, he proceeded to show that
the immediate abolition of the Slave Trade would in many ways be an
advantage to the West Indies, as it would restrict the often excessive
outlay of the planters and deliver our colonies from the fear of servile
insurrections like that of St. Domingo. Planters must rely upon the
natural increase of the black population which would accelerate under
good treatment. If, said he, that population decreases, it can be only
from ill treatment. If it is increasing, there is no need for a trade which
involves a frightful loss of life both on sea and in the process of
“seasoning” the human freitage in the West Indies.
Adverting to the Act of 1750, which was claimed as authorizing the
trade, Pitt proved from its wording that the supply of negroes for our
colonies was then deemed to be essential, and that a clause of it,
which was continually violated, expressly forbade the use of fraud or
violence in the procuring of the cargo. But, even if that law rendered
the trade legal, had any Legislature a right to sanction fraud and
violence? As well might a man think himself bound by a promise to
commit murder. He next scouted the argument that, if we gave up the
trade, other peoples would rush in and take our place. Would France,
now that she had abolished slavery? Would Denmark, seeing that she
had resolved gradually to abolish the trade? As to other lands, it was
more probable that they would follow the example soon to be set by
this land.
Having traversed the statements of opponents, Pitt raised the
whole question to a higher level by reminding the House of the export
of slaves from Britain to Rome, and by reconstructing with mordant
irony the arguments of Roman senators on its behalf, as a legitimate
and useful device for using the surplus population of a hopelessly
barbarous people. Warming to his theme, he thrilled his hearers by
contrasting the state of these islands, had they continued to supply the
Roman slave-mart, with the freedom, happiness, and civilization that
now were their lot. He besought members, as they valued these
blessings, to see to it that they were extended to Africa; and, catching
inspiration from the rays of the sun which now lit up the Hall, he
pictured the natives of Africa in some not distant future “engaged in the
calm occupations of industry, in the pursuits of a just and legitimate
commerce. We may behold the beams of science and philosophy
breaking in upon their land, which, at some happy period in still later
times may blaze with full lustre; and, joining their influence to that of
pure religion, may illuminate and invigorate the most distant
extremities of that immense Continent. Then may we hope that even
Africa, though last of all the quarters of the globe, shall enjoy at length
in the evening of her days, those blessings which have descended so
plentifully upon us in a much earlier period of the world. Then also will
Europe, participating in her improvement and prosperity, receive an
ample recompense for the tardy kindness (if kindness it can be called)
of no longer hindering that Continent from extricating herself out of the
darkness, which, in other more fortunate regions, has been so much
more speedily dispelled:

Nos ... primus equis Oriens afflavit anhelis,


765
Illic sera rubens accendit lumina Vesper.”

Continuing in this lofty strain, in which enthusiasm and learning,


reason and art, voice and gestures, enforced the pleadings of a noble
nature, he avowed his faith in the cause of immediate abolition of the
Slave Trade. The House thought otherwise. By 192 votes to 125 it
766
accepted Dundas’s amendment in favour of gradual abolition. So
far do the dictates of self-interest outweigh with many men those of
righteousness and mercy, even when these are reinforced by the most
moving appeals. Fox, Grey, and Windham agreed that Pitt’s speech
was one of the most extraordinary displays of eloquence ever heard. If
such was the opinion of opponents, we may imagine the impression
produced on friends. Wilberforce declared that the speaker was as if
inspired when he spoke of the hope of civilizing Africa—a topic which
767
he (Wilberforce) had suggested to him on the previous morning.

* * * * *
The outcome was not wholly disappointing. Three weeks later
Dundas brought forward his resolutions for a gradual abolition of the
trade. Wilberforce and Pitt failed to induce the House to fix 1st January
1795; but they carried it with them for 1st January 1796, though
Dundas proposed a date four years later. The House of Lords,
however, in deference to the speeches of the Duke of Clarence, and
Lords Hawkesbury and Thurlow, proceeded to involve the whole
question in uncertainty by deciding to hear the evidence on it at their
own bar (8th May, 1792). Some votes were decided by Thurlow’s
asseveration that this would not involve delay. The Archbishop of
Canterbury soon came to see his mistake; and after a sleepless night
he wrote on 9th May to Pitt that he was tortured by doubts as to the
outcome of the affair. “My vote was given under a strong impression
from the Chancellor’s solemn statement that an examination before a
committee of the whole House would not be a cause of delay.... My
conviction of the necessity of the abolition of the horrid trade is firm
and unshaken.” He adds that he will explain his vote on the first
possible occasion, and hopes that Pitt will show this letter to Grenville
768
and Wilberforce.
The Archbishop ought to have known that, with Thurlow, solemnity
was often the cloak of maliciousness. It was so now. The examination
of witnesses proceeded very slowly. On 5th June, after hearing only
five of them, the Lords decided to postpone the hearing of others until
769
the following year. The dismissal of Thurlow, which (as we see in a
later chapter) followed on 15th June 1792, was due in the last instance
to his pert censures of Pitt’s finance; but it may be ascribed also to his
acrimonious opposition to Pitt on the question of abolition, and to his
underhand means of defeating him in the House of Lords.
Other events also seemed to tell against the philanthropists. The
connection of some of them with the Radical clubs, and their use of
addresses and petitions to overbear the opposition in Parliament
clearly made a bad impression on Pitt. After issuing the royal
proclamation against seditious writings in May 1792 he showed his
disapproval of their methods; and during the subsequent negotiations
for a union with the moderate Whigs, in order to form a truly national
administration, he confessed to Loughborough that he must make
770
some concession to the Whig Houses on the question of abolition.
This is the first clear sign of his intention to shelve the measure until
the return of more settled times.
They were not to come for wellnigh a decade. The declaration of
war by the French Republic on 1st February 1793 turned men’s minds
away from philanthropy to destruction. The results were soon visible. A
measure proposed by Wilberforce, to prohibit the supply to foreigners
of slaves in British ships, failed to pass the Commons, despite the able
speeches of Pitt, Fox, and Francis in its favour (5th June 1793). In the
Lords meanwhile the Duke of Clarence (the future William IV) spoke
against the original proposal with great bitterness, denouncing the
abolitionists as fanatics and hypocrites, and expressly naming
Wilberforce among them. This insolence was far from meeting with the
chastisement that it deserved; but his words were taken as a sign that
the royal family was pledged to the support of the odious traffic.
It may be well to notice here a remarkable effort of the chief
abolitionists, and to add a few words about the men themselves. Early
in the year 1791 some of them sought to show that under favourable
conditions negroes were capable of self-government. Accordingly they
formed a Sierra Leone Committee for the purpose of settling liberated
slaves on that part of the coast of West Africa. In the Pitt Papers is a
letter of 18th April 1791, from the first overseer, Falconbridge, to
Granville Sharp, which the latter forwarded to Pitt, giving a
heartrending account of the state of the thirty-six men and twenty
women who formed the settlement. Fevers and ulcers were rife.
Outrages by white men had made the tribes defiant, and a native chief
hard by was far from friendly. Falconbridge adds: “That lump of
deformity, the Slave Trade, has so debauched the minds of the natives
that they are lost to every principle of honor and honesty. The scenes
of iniquity and murder I daily hear of, occasioned by this damnable
traffic, make my nature revolt.” He had named the bay and village
Granville Bay and Town; but, as the latter was already overgrown with
bushes, he was planting another at Fora Bay. He concludes—“For
771
God’s sake send me a ship of force (warship).” Such were the
feeble beginnings of a colony of which Zachary Macaulay was to be
the first Governor.
Here, as in other parts of this philanthropic movement, Pitt
displayed little or no initiative. To the cause of abolition he gave the
support of his eloquence and his influence in Parliament; but he gave
no decided lead in these and cognate efforts, a fact which somewhat
detracts from his greatness as a statesman in this formative period.
The merit of starting the movement and of utilizing new openings
belongs to the Quakers, to Granville Sharp, Clarkson, Wilberforce and
his friends. The member for Yorkshire had grouped around him at his
abode, Broomfield, Clapham Common, or at his town house in Palace
Yard, Westminster, a number of zealous workers, among whom Henry
Thornton, James Stephen (his brother-in-law), Thomas Babington, and
Zachary Macaulay were prominent. His chief correspondents were Dr.
Milner (Dean of Carlisle), Lord Muncaster, Sir Charles Middleton, Rev.
John Newton, and Hannah More. With these and other members of the
Abolitionist Society he was in constant touch; and their zeal for social
reform and for the evangelical creed (which led to his Clapham circle
being styled the “Clapham Sect”) led to great results. In the religious
sphere Wilberforce and his friends were largely instrumental in
founding the Church Missionary Society (1798) and the Bible Society
(1803). Their efforts on behalf of the poor and the mitigation of the
barbarous penal code (a matter ever associated with the name of
Romilly) were also to bear good fruit.
For the present all their efforts against the Slave Trade seemed to
be in vain. It was pressed on feverishly in the year 1792. Between 5th
January and 4th May of that year there sailed from London 8 slave
ships, from Bristol 11, from Liverpool 39. The total tonnage was 11,195
tons. Another official return among the Pitt Papers (No. 310) gives the
following numbers of slaves taken in British ships from West Africa to
the West Indies in the years 1789 to 1795 (the figures for 1790 are
wanting):

YEAR. SLAVES TAKEN. DIED ON THE VOYAGE.


1789 11,014 1,053
1791 15,108 1,397
1792 26,971 2,468
1793 11,720 869
1794 14,611 394
1795 7,157 224
Total 86,581 6,405

These figures suggest a reason for the falling off of interest in the
question after 1792. The trade seemed to be falling off; and the
mortality at sea declined as the cargo was less closely packed. This,
however, was but a poor argument for not abolishing a trade which
was inherently cruel and might revive with the return of peace. In 1794
the Commons seemed friendly to abolition. Pitt, Fox, Whitbread, and
other friends of the cause pleaded successfully on behalf of
Wilberforce’s Bill of the previous year. Once more, however, the
influence of the Duke of Clarence, Thurlow, and Lord Abingdon availed
to defeat the proposal. Grenville also voted against it as being
premature. The Lords proceeded to illustrate the sincerity of their
desire for further information on the topic by shelving the whole inquiry.
A sense of despair now began to creep over many friends of the
movement. If abolitionist motions could only just pass the Commons,
to be at once rejected by the Lords, what hope was there for the
slaves? Their cause was further overclouded by the sharp
disagreement of Wilberforce and Pitt respecting the war with France.
As we shall see in a later chapter, Pitt and the majority of his
supporters, together with the Old Whigs, believed that the war must go
on until a solid peace could be obtained. Wilberforce and many of the
abolitionists thought otherwise. During the latter part of the year 1794
and the first weeks of 1795 the two friends were scarcely on speaking
terms; but even during that sad time Pitt wrote to Wilberforce (26th
December 1794): “Nothing has happened to add either to my hopes or
fears respecting the Slave Question with a view to the issue of it in the
next session, but I think the turn things take in France may be
favourable to the ultimate abolition.” Pitt spoke powerfully against
Dundas’s amendment in favour of gradual abolition at some time after
the conclusion of the war; but these procrastinating tactics carried the
day by 78 to 61 (26th February 1795).
In the following year matters at first seemed more hopeful. Twice
did Pitt and Wilberforce beat the supporters of the trade by fair
majorities; but on the third reading of the Abolition Bill it was lost by
four votes. Wilberforce noted indignantly that enough of its supporters
were at the Opera to have turned the scale. The same apathy
characterized the session of 1797, when the mutinies in the fleet and
the sharp financial crisis told heavily against a measure certain to
entail some losses in shipping and colonial circles. At this time Pitt
seems to have lost heart in the matter. This appeared in his attitude
towards a plausible but insidious proposal, that the Governors of
Colonies should be directed to recommend the local Assemblies to
adopt measures which would improve the lot of the negroes and thus
prepare the way for the abolition of the Slave Trade. Than this nothing
could be more futile; for the Governors and Assemblies were known to
desire the continuance of the trade. Yet Pitt urged Wilberforce to
accept the motion if it were modified; but, on Wilberforce refusing, he
“stood stiffly by him.” They were beaten by a majority of thirty-six—a
proof that the House wished to postpone abolition to the distant
772
future.
The negotiations for peace with France, which went on at Lille
during the summer of that year, offered an opportunity for including a
mutual guarantee of the two Powers that they would abolish the Slave
Trade. Pitt seems to have disapproved of introducing this question into
the discussions, either from a fear of complicating them, or from a
773
belief that it would be treated better after the conclusion of peace.
His reluctance was misconstrued by Wilberforce, who sent him the
following letter:

774
Hull, August 1, 1797.
... I am afraid the negotiation is not in such a state as to render
the idea I started of negotiating unconditionally for the abolition of
the Slave Trade a practical question very necessary to be just now
discussed. But if the negotiation should wear a more promising
aspect, let me beg you seriously to weigh the matter. Dundas is
friendly to the notion, as indeed I must do him, and myself too, the
justice to say that I believe he would. Grenville ought to be so, and
all the rest except Lord Liverpool are either neutral or friendly. I
must honestly say, I never was so much hurt since I knew you as
at your not receiving and encouraging this proposal, which even
Lord Liverpool himself ought to have approved on the ground on
775
which he used to oppose. Do, my dear Pitt, I entreat you
reconsider the matter. I am persuaded of your zeal in this cause,
when, amidst the multitude of matters which force themselves on
you more pressingly, it can obtain a hearing; but I regret that you
have so been drawn off from it. Indeed regret is a very poor term
to express what I feel on this subject. Excuse this, from the fulness
of my heart, which I have often kept down with difficulty and grief.
My dear Pitt let me intreat you, as I see another bishop is
dead, to consider well whom you appoint. I am persuaded that if
the clergy could be brought to know and to do their duty, both the
religious and civil state of this country would receive a principle of
life.

The rupture of the Lille negotiation by the French falsified these


hopes and served to justify Pitt for not weighting it with a contentious
proposal. But for the present at least, he had lost hope in the cause. It
is true that he always spoke strongly on its behalf during the ensuing
776
efforts put forth by Wilberforce. But the buoyancy of his belief was
777
gone, and some even of his friends accused him of apathy. This is
probably unjust. A man may believe firmly in a measure, and yet be
convinced that it cannot pass under present conditions. In that case he
will do his best, but his efforts will be those of an overburdened horse
unable to master the load.
More than once he annoyed Wilberforce by preventing a useless
778
discussion of the question. Insinuations of insincerity were therefore
hurled at Pitt. Indeed they seem to have gained wide credence. We
find his young admirer, Canning, writing at Brooksby, near Leicester,
on 15th December 1799, that very many friends doubted whether he
now desired to carry abolition, while some even commended his
prudence in doing less than he professed in the matter. Canning found
it far from easy to eradicate this notion from the minds of his hosts, the
Ellises, by informing them of the object of a secret mission to the West
779
Indies then undertaken by Smith.

* * * * *
It may be well to postpone to a later chapter the question of Pitt’s
attitude towards abolition in his second Ministry, that of 1804–6. But we
may notice here certain criticisms which apply mainly, of course, to the
years 1788–1800. He has been censured for not making abolition a
780
Cabinet question. But how could he do so when the majority of
Ministers opposed it? For a short time only the Duke of Richmond and
he favoured abolition. The substitution of Grenville for Sydney
strengthened his hands; but even then he was in a minority in the
Cabinet on this question. Further, the House of Lords consistently, and
by increasing majorities, scouted the measure; and the House of
Commons, even under the spell of Pitt’s eloquence, refused to decree
immediate abolition, and that, too, before the shadow of the great war
shrouded the whole subject in disastrous eclipse. After the last year of
peace of Pitt’s ministerial career, other considerations came
uppermost. The need of keeping up the mercantile marine, both as a
source of wealth and as a nursery for the royal navy, cooled the zeal of
many friends of the movement. Windham opposed it in a manner that
earned him the title of Machiavelli. Others also fell away; and even the
eloquence of young Canning on its behalf did not make up for
defections. The better class of West India planters and merchants
tacitly agreed to the limitation of the Slave Trade; and with this
prospect in view many friends of the cause relaxed their efforts.
Further, when the King, a decided majority both in the Cabinet and
in the House of Lords, and a wavering majority in the Commons, were
unchangeably opposed to immediate abolition, what could a Minister
do? The ordinary course of conduct, resignation, would have availed
nothing. As nearly all the Ministerial bench disliked the proposal, no
coherent Cabinet could have been formed. True, a Ministry composed
of Pitt, Grenville, Fox, Burke, Sheridan, and Wilberforce might perhaps
have forced the measure through the Commons (to see it fail in the
Lords); but so monstrous a coalition could scarcely have seen the light;
certainly it could not have lived amid the storms of the war. Besides,
the first duty of a Minister after 1792 was to secure for his country the
boon of a solid peace. As we shall see, that was ever Pitt’s aim; and
grief at seeing it constantly elude his grasp finally cost him his life.
Further, the assumption that he could have coerced the members of
his Cabinet because they differed from him on this question is
untenable. He was able to secure the retirement of Sydney because
he was not highly efficient, and of Thurlow on the ground of
contumacy. But to compel useful and almost necessary Ministers like
Dundas or Camden to retire, when the majority in both Houses agreed
with them, would have set at defiance all the traditions of parliamentary
life.
The criticisms noticed above are based on the assumption that Pitt
was all-powerful and could bend the Cabinet and Parliament to his will.
This is an exaggeration. Where, as in the case of pocket boroughs and
the Slave Trade, members felt their interests at stake, they
somnolently resisted the charms of his oratory and trooped into the
opposite lobby. The British people is slow to realize its responsibilities,
but in the end it responds to them; and in these years of defeat at
Westminster the efforts of Clarkson, Granville Sharp, and others
spread abroad convictions which were to assure an ultimate triumph.
The failure of Pitt to carry the abolition of the Slave Trade or
materially to improve the condition of the negroes was to have a
sinister influence on our position in the West Indies. While the slave
owners and shippers and their friends at Westminster refused to budge
an inch, the French Jacobins eagerly rushed forward and proclaimed
the equality of all mankind. Therefore early in the course of the Great
War the slaves rallied to the tricolour; and Toussaint l’Ouverture, the
ablest of negro leaders, enthusiastically marshalled their levies in Hayti
for the overthrow of British rule. In a later chapter we shall trace the
disastrous sequel. Colonel (afterwards Sir John) Moore noted in his
Diary that the negroes were for the most part fanatical for liberty; and,
after committing deeds of desperation in its name, died defiantly with
781
the cry Vive la République on their lips. Here we touch on one of
the chief causes for the frightful waste of British troops in the West
Indies. With discontent rife in our own colonies, the struggle against
the blacks, especially in Hayti, placed on our men a strain unendurable
in that pestilential climate. The Hon. J. W. Fortescue, the historian of
the British Army, estimates its total losses in the West Indies during the
war of 1793–1802 as not far short of 100,000 men. Whatever the total
may be, it is certain that at least half of that woeful sacrifice resulted
from the crass stupidity and brutal selfishness displayed by mercantile
and colonial circles on this question.

* * * * *
In the last four chapters we have taken a survey of questions of
great interest in British and colonial history, and have therefore
interrupted the story of Pitt’s dealings with continental affairs. It is time
now to recur to events of world-wide import, namely, the ambitious
schemes of the Sovereigns of the East and the great popular upheaval
in France.

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