The ethical--or unethical--behavior of an organization is a critical factor for new college graduates seeking jobs, according to a new study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Figure 1: Percent responding "would not work for the employer" to selected employer actions, 2008 vs. 1982

Employer Action	2008	1982
Producing a harmful product	59%	42%
Restricting foreign competition	9%	4%
Using company resources for personal gain	6%	2%
Allowing spouse to use company resources.	16%	5%
Paying off foreign officials	22%	18%
Paying women and/or minorities less	46%	28%
Preventing unions	17%	29%
Using lie detector for theft	40%	45%
Using lie detector for employment screening.	26%	26%
Source: 2008 Graduating Student Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers.

In fact, NACE's 2008 Graduating Student Survey found that current-day graduates are much more likely to shy away from employers they perceive as engaging in unethical behavior than were their counterparts who graduated in1982.

NACE compared the attitudes of the college Class of 2008 to those of the college Class of 1982, based on current survey results and those of a similar study conducted by the NACE Foundation in 1982.

"We found that there was a great deal of agreement between both groups of graduates on what was and wasn't ethical. However, in most instances, current graduates had a stronger reaction to unethical behavior and were much more likely to say they would not work for an organization if it engaged in such behavior," says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

For example, 98 percent of both 2008 and 1982 graduates identified "producing a harmful product" as unethical. However, in terms of their reaction to that behavior, 59 percent of 2008 graduates said they would not work for such an organization while 42 percent of 1982 graduates took that stance. (See Figure 1.)

"Their strong reaction suggests that Millennial generation students have a heightened awareness of the importance of company ethics," says Mackes.

Since 1956, theNational Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been the leading source of information about the employment of college graduates. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media at www.naceweb.org/press/.