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Published on January 18, 2008

Hill and Knowlton's annual Corporate Reputation Watch shows that in the war for top talent, students in general were more likely to mention career opportunities and company/brand than environment and corporate social responsibility.

However, Asian students are slightly more likely than their American or European counterparts to say that corporate social responsibility is very important in assessing a company's reputation, said Glenn Schloss, regional director for corporate communications at Hill and Knowlton Asia-Pacific.

"Six years post-Enron and 10 years after the Asian financial crisis, MBAs now have a strong preference for companies with the best reputation … Those with inferior reputations will find it very difficult to attract and retain the best and brightest," he said.

They are also discouraged in working for companies in emerging markets like Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.

The study confirms the importance of reputation, as 73 per cent of MBA students said corporate reputation plays an extremely or very important role when considering where to work.

The Nation