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Rotary Club
of King of Prussia
Pennsylvania, USA
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ROTARY BASICS
"The King of Clubs"
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Object of Rotary
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business and community life;
FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
Avenues of Service
For seventy years (since 1927), The program of Rotary has been carried out on four Avenues of Service (originally called channels). These avenues — club service, vocational service, community service and international service — closely mirror the four parts of the Object of Rotary:
Club Service includes the scope of activities that Rotarians undertake in support of their club, such as serving on committees, proposing individuals for membership, and meeting attendance requirements.
Vocational Service focuses on the opportunity that Rotarians have to represent their professions as well as their efforts to promote vocational awareness and high ethical standards in business. For decades, Rotarians having been applying the "4-Way Test" to their business and personal relationships and in recent years, a "Declaration of Rotarians in Businesses and Professions" has given expression to their concern for ethical standards in the workplace. From offering career guidance in high schools, to seeking ways to improve conditions in the workplace, Rotarians and their clubs engage in many different kinds of vocational service.
Community Service includes the scope of activities which Rotarians undertake to improve the quality of life in their community. Many official Rotary programs are intended to meet community needs, whether it be to promote literacy, help the elderly or disabled, combat urban violence or provide opportunities for local youth.
International Service describes the activities which Rotarians undertake to advance international understanding, goodwill and peace. The spread of Rotary clubs across the globe allows for the concerted Rotary support of humanitarian efforts worldwide.
4-Way Test
One of the most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics in the world is the Rotary 4-Way Test. It was created by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor in 1932 when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. Taylor looked for a way to save the struggling company mired in depression-caused financial difficulties. He drew up a 24-word code of ethics for all employees to follow in their business and professional lives. The 4-Way Test became the guide for sales, production, advertising and all relations with dealers and customers, and the survival of the company is credited to this simple philosophy.
Herb Taylor became president of Rotary International in 1954-55. The 4-Way Test was adopted by Rotary in 1943 and has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. Here it is in English:
"Of the things we think, say or do:
1. Is it the Truth?
2. Is it Fair to all concerned?
3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?"
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What is Rotary ?
Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
There are over 1.2 million Rotarians, members of more than 32,400 Rotary clubs in 168 countries.
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(*) What makes Rotarians tick ?
Each of the Rotary Clubs -from American Samoa to Zimbabwe and from the USA to the Soviet Union - is different, responding to diverse cultural, political, socio-economical and religious idiosyncrasies. It could meet for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It may include only a couple of dozen, or several hundred members. But by definition, they all abide by the same principles: Rotarians strive to create order where there is chaos, beauty where there is ugliness, fellowship where there is loneliness, and health and happiness where there is poverty and disease.
On February 23, 1905 Paul Harris, a young lawyer; Silvester Schiele, a coal dealer; Gustavus E. Loehr, a mining engineer; and Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor started the Rotary movement. The founding four were of Anglo-Saxon, German, Swedish, and Irish ancestry; professing the Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish faiths. The initial purpose was to enjoy each others' company, to enlarge their circle of business and professional acquaintances, to abide by the highest ethical standards, and to promote the advancement of understanding, good will and a better environment for all mankind.
Rotary is organized on the basis of only one club in each community, with membership comprising but one representative - man or woman - of each business, occupation or profession within the community. This policy creates an inclusive - never exclusive - membership, fostering a fellowship of service based on diversity of interests and enables the club to be a true cross-section of the community. Each club is intended to be a body of individuals knit together in bonds of personal friendship. Furthermore, every Rotary Club must have its doors open to the whole world. As a member of the Rotary family, all Rotarians have a right of entry into any Rotary club in any country, and with it the privilege of acquaintance and opportunity of fellowship with Rotarians of all races, creeds and colors, who break bread together in Rotary every week. Rotarians believe in the development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service at all levels, including the local, regional or world communities in which we all live; and in the application of the ideal of service to their personal, business and social lives.
Furthermore, all men and women Rotarians pledge to abide by high ethical standards in their business or professions; to recognize the worthiness of all useful occupations, and to dignify his or her occupation by using it as an opportunity to serve society. Rotarians are expected to reflect on whether what they think, say or do is the truth, is fair and beneficial to all concerned, and whether or not it will help build good will and better friendships.
Associations, like people, are known for what they stand for and what they accomplish. Service brings forth being thoughtful of and helpful to others in almost any worthwhile human activity. Rotary brings together, in a friendly, impartial atmosphere, individuals of all races, religious faiths, and political beliefs. Its bond is fellowship toward the common end of service, despite individual differences regarding the means of reaching that end. Thus, Rotary cultivates understanding and cooperation by emphasizing common interests, while avoiding commitment on partisan measures or activities on which individuals are so often divided.
If we had to pick the single most important motivation that makes Rotarians tick, that would undoubtedly be the advancement of international understanding, good will and peace through a world-wide fellowship of business and professional men and women united in the ideal of service. Rotary International approaches its centennial over one million members strong, with the conviction that these ideals are more vital and universal than ever.
(*) Ernest Zlotolow-Stambler, King of Prussia Rotary Club President (1990/1991)
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