FROM THE R.I.
SOUTH PACIFIC & PHILIPPINES
OFFICE
with Manager Harley Tarrant |
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Extracted from the Rotary Downunder Magazine
May 2004
"The Decline of Vocational Service"
When I joined my club, one of
the books I was given to read was Service is My Business, a 140-page book
devoted to inspiring Rotarians to adopt and apply the principles of
Vocational Service. This book has long been out of print and R.I. today
publishes nothing more than a practical guide on Vocational Service
programs.
The book made it clear that the
privilege of holding a classification in a Rotary club carried an obligation
“to make service rather than self the basis of every principle, policy and
procedure” in one’s occupation.
It stated that “Vocational Service is SHARING with others who are not
Rotarians – SHARING with them the ideal of Rotary.”
It is the duty of all Rotarians
to communicate to others in their business or profession, and to the
community at large, the principles of Rotary Vocational Service.
Vocational Service has always
been the main feature distinguishing Rotary from other organisations and one
of the primary reasons for its existence. Yet, today, at a time when ethics
in business and professions have slumped to a level lower than almost any
time in the past 100 years, and when huge corporations are permitted to use
their wealth to put smaller competitors out of business, R.I. and Rotary
clubs have given up the fight.
For many years Rotary has made
little attempt to inform or to inspire Rotarians to follow and apply the
principles of Vocational Service. The Vocational Service program of many
clubs is restricted to a few job talks and vocational awards and we
constantly hear the complaint that there is nothing to do in Vocational
Service.
There has hardly been a time
when the promotion of Rotary’s ideals of Vocational Service has been more
vital to the well-being of society. We need to get back to the basics and
promote:
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Pride in one’s
work |
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Fairness to
employees |
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Service to
customers |
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Fair competition |
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Good faith and
honesty |