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
4-Way Test, which was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as Rotaty International
president) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. Adopted by Rotary in 1943,
the 4-Way Test has been translated into more than one hundred languages and published in thousands of ways.
It asks the following four questions:
THE 4 WAY TEST
(Of the things Rotarians think, say, and 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?