The Four-Way Test
From the
earliest days of the organization,
Rotarians were concerned with promoting
high ethical standards in their
professional lives. One of the world's
most widely printed and quoted
statements of business ethics is The
Four-Way Test, which was created in 1932
by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later
served as RI president) when he was
asked to take charge of a company that
was facing bankruptcy.
This 24-word
test for employees to follow in their
business and professional lives 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. Adopted by Rotary in
1943, The Four-Way Test has been
translated into more than a hundred
languages and published in thousands of
ways. It asks the following four
questions:
"Of the things
we think, say or do:
- Is it the
TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR
to all concerned?
- Will it
build GOODWILL and BETTER
FRIENDSHIPS?
- Will it be
BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"
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