Do Germans Disregard the Greater Good, Compared to How Much Canadians and Americans Regard It?
Universum's global study on students' career goals reveals just how much students may care

PHILADELPHIA, PA, July 06, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Canadians, Americans, Irish, Danish and Portuguese have the biggest hearts; these undergraduates will soon embark on their career paths and have selected to be dedicated to a cause or to serve a greater good as one of their top three career goals. On the other end, however, Russians, Dutch, Italians, Indians and last but not least Germans could be considered apathetic to the "greater good", depending of course on how they define it.

Universum asked 300,000 university students around the world to select their three most important career goals, from nine possible choices (percentages of students that selected the given alternative were compared and ranked). In only five out of the 25 countries or regions, did the given option — to be dedicated to a cause or to serve a greater good — make students' top three career aspirations.

Even if the maple leaf and ice hockey are defining characteristics , Canadians are the most driven to the "greater cause" - it forms part of the student mindset. In the US, however, people believe in small government intervention and big philanthropy. Following cultural tradition and the well-known dictum — "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" — Americans, unsurprisingly, feel it's their duty and obligation to make a contribution to society and even the world.

For Europeans, however, governmental bodies have typically taken on the responsibilities for overcoming environmental and social problems, perhaps adversely affecting how Europeans engage in civic duties. With the exception of the Irish, Danish and Portuguese, based on Universum's research at least, European students are by majority egocentric — or are they?

Michal Kalinowski, Universum's CEO, believes differently. "Students do evaluate employer ethics and responsibilities, just like they want to make their own positive contributions. Understandably, ones' own benefits come first, yet many in this generation would dismiss the trivial desk job over the opportunity to make a significant difference", said the hopeful Mr. Kalinowski.

Universum's question about career goals is based on Edgar Schein's research on career anchors. Edgar Schein is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a world renowned expert on organizational theory.

If you'd like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview, contact Kate Balog Email: kate.balog@universumusa.com Tel: 215.546.4900 ext 217

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