What do firefighters, businessmen and professional athletes do better than high schoolers, according to a recent study by Junior Achievement?

They tell the truth.

The 725 teenagers who took the survey had some surprising opinions: Nearly 40 percent said that in some cases cheating to get a better grade on a test is acceptable, that plagiarism to boost a research paper is morally OK, that lying to get ahead at work is satisfactory.

Some people are shocked by this; I'm not. After all, this is the age of Enron, of insider trading, of doping and lip-syncing. This is an age where stealing can be as easy as a click of a mouse. It's easier now than ever before to behave in a way that just isn't ethical.

In 2000, I watched in admiration as American sprinter Marion Jones won five medals at the Olympics in Sydney. Earlier this year, though, she admitted that she had used undetectable steroids to fuel her victory. I was devastated.

Jones lost her medals and retired from track and field, her career suddenly irrelevant. She lost the trust of her fans and the people around her. And she's not the only one to have done so: A number of well-respected baseball players have recently been linked to alleged steroid use.

What were they thinking? Did they think they wouldn't get caught? Was winning so important they had lie, cheat and break the law to get there? Is winning ever that important? I don't think so.

If those who are considered role models behave like this, it's no wonder Junior Achievement got such alarming results on their ethics survey.

These days, following a code of ethics --- doing the right thing --- is more important than ever, as culture and technology make it easier and more socially acceptable to cheat in school and business. Students are falling prey, even ones that should know better --- for example, the freshman in a college history class taught by a friend of mine who copied from Amazon.com and handed it in as her own work, expecting not to get caught. Instead, she nearly failed the class.

Cheaters often think they're not actually hurting anyone else if they don't get caught. That's not true.

Think about the other sprinters in the 2000 Olympics. They trained hard and without the help of artificial drugs. They can't go back and have another chance at the gold.

Think about Jones' fans who now have a hard time trusting the next star athlete boasting of a success that is drug-free. Sadly enough, I'm one of them. Jones didn't need the drugs. She could have won on her own guts and leg power.

Likewise, nobody needs to cheat, whether they're talking about steroids or a math test.

People are learning every day that the easy way isn't easy. It doesn't pay to lie or cheat. Getting caught has consequences --- being expelled, failing class and losing the trust of friends and teachers.

Getting away with cheating is even worse: Cheaters learn nothing, and when the real world requires the information they should have learned in school, they will fail. And in the "real world," there are very few do-overs.

Ethics aren't stodgy rules to be trashed and broken; they're guidelines that inspire us to excel, to achieve and to shine in the most authentic way possible.

Cheating weakens us. Doing the work makes us stronger.

Don't be part of the 40 percent who believe it is OK to cheat. Even if you don't get the gold medal, you'll still be a winner.

Karen Osborne is a columnist with Catholic News Service.