Can different reasons for action co-exist, as long as the same end-result is reached? Or to put it more crudely, is it possible for covert selfishness to eventually manifest itself as altruism, and to what extent does it matter to all the parties involved? These questions I will attempt to answer, allowing the moral aspect of the issue to be a simple spectator from the sidelines. The Rotary Club is a recurring example in my essay, but the same ideas and concepts can be applied to clubs of service in general.

At times bringing things down to the lowest common denominator can bring some insight to a problem. One such ‘grassroot’ question is: what does a person stand to gain by joining a club of service? When I speak of ‘gains’ in this context, I refer to the potential pay-offs for the individual. For example, personal satisfaction does not count as a potential pay-off, but recognition does – he might be offered a service in return someday. Similarly, fellowship and contacts count as pay-offs. The status bestowed upon the member is definitely a potential pay-off. Let me quickly add that the prospect of living in a safer neighborhood (by actively participating in a programme aimed at tackling the social causes of crime), or discouraging your kids from spending their pocket-money on cigarettes, sparing them an early death in the process (by initiating a local sensitization programme on the dangers of smoking with the help of the club) also count as potential pay-offs!

Thus, we have seen that different members might have been motivated by different reasons for joining the club. I should point out however that I have not classified the reasons as moral or amoral, but solely on the basis of gains. Let me also stress that the word ‘potential’ in front of ‘pay-off’ is important: the pay-offs may materialize with varying probabilities, although it is never sure whether they will materialize or not: a fellow member may not be able to recommend me for the post either because he is helpless or because he deliberately forgets about me, and my kids may become chain smokers and eventually end up as cancer patients, despite my efforts, but those are the risks involved. This leads to the conclusion that the whole process of deciding whether to join a club or not is based on the prior weighing up of costs and gains.

With little or no effort, we can also see why members cooperate with each other: whatever be our motivation to do the job (they do not necessarily have to be the same), we both earn each other’s respect if we work together to achieve the same end (remember, recognition is a potential pay-off). Most clubs have a system of checks and balances inherent in their manual of procedure, which enable them to monitor their performance and function properly. Rotary International for example requires each of its clubs worldwide to carry out a minimum number of projects each year. Any club failing to reach that threshold ceases to be one. It’s as simple as that. Now, imagine the ignominy that accompanies the inability to live up to the expectations of Rotary International. A club that ceases to exist for such a reason takes all its members down along with it. This counts as a loss (I use the word ‘loss’ in the technical sense – the exact opposite of ‘gain’) for all the members, whatever their reason for joining might have been.

This is also why the inability to cooperate with other members is severely punished: it is bad for the member, yes, but it is also potentially harmful to the club as well. So, if I do not get along with the others and refuse to cooperate, it won’t be long before I am ushered to the door. We must bear in mind however that these are extreme cases. Reasons for performing in an organization can be placed on a ladder (similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs) with genuine altruism at the top and fear of dishonor at the bottom: if everything else fails, ‘fear’ becomes the motivation to be ‘altruistic’.

All the factors mentioned above if condensed into one single phrase would read: ‘Yes, there exist in any organization people motivated by various reasons who work cooperatively to achieve the same end, and if need be, the organization itself ensures that everybody works cooperatively.’ This is an answer I have reached, not influenced by pre-conceived ideas of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. And my reaction to that gentleman would now be: "Whatever your motivation to join a club of service might be, once you’re in there you have no other choice but to serve. It’s not that easy - you will wish you were home for dinner more often."