The Reflective Manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Reflective Manager - Assignment Example 40 as cited in Hoyrup, 2004). " Hence, reflection in its broadest sense is active and not passive. Reflection is a conscious decision to be aware of everything that needs to be done in order to accomplish a long-term goal, even if the insight gained might not be favourable. Come to think of it, when someone or an organisation commits a mistake, should that person or institution just go on with their lives They should and ought to find out what went wrong. They must identify the causes which produced a negative outcome than what was originally planned. Hence, at this stage, reflection is a very important step for them to learn. Otherwise, they will commit the same or even worse mistake, resulting to possible losses of money or even life. In this paper, I shall try to present the broad use of reflection in organizations based on the finding of the research literature. It is my hope that managers will utilize reflection in their work place. On my part, reflection should be included as standard operating procedure. In other words, after a certain period has elapsed, employees and managers should reflect on their progress as members of an organization and that they should evaluate the progress of the project they are engaged with. Essentially, it is better to use reflection when things are doing well, or at least nothing disastrous has happened, or is about to happen. This is like the mistake of many in praying for God's protection and delivery after everything went wrong, when people if they believe in a Divine Being, ought to pray beforehand. There are many instruments for reflection. Let us start with the personal learning journal. This could take the form of the traditional paper and pen. If an employee is web-savvy, he or she could use a personal blog for this. A personal learning journal is a diary, journal, or log where a person can write about his or her experiences doing an activity. This could also include learning about complex concepts, or simply by working. I found this useful since research shows that students using a personal learning journal develop reflective skills. These skills make them more likely to learn and appreciate a subject than their non-reflective counterparts. Lyons (1999, p. 33, as cited in Loo & Thorpe, 2002) opined: "[D]eveloping reflective skills made students more confident in their learning, fostered responsibility and accountability and assisted in integration of theory and practice." In making a personal learning journal, the following questions could be asked and used as starting points (Scanlon and Chernomas, 1997 as cited in Loo & Thorpe, 2002): (1) What was that event or concept that made me learn (2) What are the things I learned and in what way did I learn them (3) How do I feel about that which I learned If good, what are they If bad, what are they (4) Is there a way by which on the next try I could learn more effectively and efficiently (5) If so, what prevented me from learning effectively and efficiently in the first try On the level of the individual employee, such reflection will help him or her. But further step must be done. Once a group has agreed that its members will write a personal learning journal, the members of that group should schedule a special meeting where each could share the insights gained. Based on the learning

Internal project management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Internal project management - Coursework Example This research seeks to explore and look into ways of shaping an effective method of managing projects inside IB - Wirth so that it can perform better and produce optimal results; and if necessary, to fill in gaps which exist and offer suggestions for improvement. The underlying motivation for choosing this topic is the fact that project management is a domain that has been gaining more and more importance today. Such value has been triggered by shifting economic conditions like globalization, the escalating competitive spirit among business enterprises, technological advances and growing customer demands and requirements - all these have led to businesses carrying out projects to attain maximum value in their products and yield better production results. In this discourse, it is hoped that the positive features of project management will be magnified, clarified and given the needed stress with the anticipation that such features will assist in the enhancement of Wirth's business practices, provide ways that would improve the engineering office' current dealings with its customers thereby giving more satisfaction and develop to the fullest the company's overall bottom line. Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction Case Company Background 5 Research Objectives 5 Significance of the Study 6 Outline of the Dissertation 6 Chapter 2 - Literature Review Definitions 7 Risk Management and its Role 8 Role of Managers 10 Effective Project Management/ Strategies 12 PM Framework 15 PM Application/Issues 16 Chapter 3 - Methodology Research Design/Strategy 17 Method of Data Collection 18 Validity and Reliability 20 Appendices 22 Bibliography 30 Chapter 1 Introduction Whether in times of economic troubles and stagnation or during periods of financial viability, it is always imperative for business organizations to "tighten their belts" and focus on rational and pragmatic objectives. Essentially, business firms must aspire for economic efficiency as their crucial goal and make such objective compelling and well-founded. To grasp this goal, all minor divisions of a business organization must therefore be cost-effective. In this treatise, these minor divisions are seen as "projects." To achieve harmony and synchronization in these projects, internal project management is necessary. Project management has surfaced as a forceful discipline carried out by well trained, professionals as business firms have come to realize that they cannot be a viable enterprise if they cannot manage their projects. However, many organizations are still limiting the application of project management to the tactical level since it is critical to for the business' continued existence to make certain that products are efficiently crafted, developed and delivered to internal and external customers. Likewise, knowledgeable organizations have long recognized the fact that project management

Strategic Management at News Company

Strategic Management at News Company The performance of different companies has been affected by internal and external factors. These environmental factors specifically affect or impact management functions. One of the approaches that the management should consider is the implementation of strategic or effective management function. Primarily, the main goal of this paper is to analyse The News Corporation through the given case study. Herein, the Paper will provide information about the strategic position of News Corporation through the use of SWOT analysis. Furthermore, this paper will also evaluate the rational and motivation behind the News Corporation strategy of diversifying into satellite broadcasting and evaluate the advantage and disadvantage of acquisition as method of development with particular reference to the acquisition undertaken by The News Corporation. Lastly, this paper aims on providing a recommendation for a strategic development plan for TNC from 2006 to onwards. Overview of the Company Accordingly, News Corporation is a publicly traded media corporation that provides media services all over the world. The company is originally an Australian corporation but when they have reincorporated in 2004, News Corporation moves its headquarters from Adelaide, Australia to New York City of the United States. After the reincorporation, the corporation has been able to add to the SP Index in later part of 2004 and have been able to generate about 75% of its revenues as well as its profits in the United States. The companys business portfolio includes television programming, motion picture production, TV, cable and satellite broadcasting, publishing of newspaper, book and magazine as well as the distribution and promotion of advertising campaign materials and services. The major shareholder of the corporation is the family of its founder which is Chairman Rupert Murdoch who has been able to spend his 50 years with the company. Murdochs family controls 30% share of the company. Murdoch has been able to build a media empire starting with his ownership of the Adelaide news, which his father has established. In 1964, he founded The Australian which is the first national daily newspaper and then acquired British and American media properties to expand his business portfolio. The subsidiaries of the News Corporation include Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Entertainment group movie studio. In addition, the corporation has also 34% stake in the DIRECTV Group and also have the ownership of over 30 American television stations, Boston Herald and New York Post newspapers and various Britain largest ciculation newspapers which include The News of the World, The Sun and The Times. Moreover, the corporation has the extensive business operations across Europe, Aust ralia, Asia and Latin America. News Corporation also brought Intermix Media Inc in July 2005 which is the owner of the largest social networking portal in the World Wide Web MySpace.com and about 30 other websites. It is said that with this approach and with the formation of the Fox Interactive Media, the acquisition of Intermix underscores the companys commitment to expand their business operations in the internet. In the latter part of 2007, the company has been able to acquire Dow Jones Company which is the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and other companies in news and information. In 2006, the News Corporation revenue was reported to be $25.3 billion in 2006 (Murdoch, 2008). Strategy Options The most dominant strategic or effective management paradigm in recent years is known as the strategies model (David, 2001). Porter (1998) claims that the intensity of competition in an industry is neither a matter of coincidence or bad luck. Rather, competition in any business industry is rooted in its underlying economic structure and goes well beyond the behaviour of current rival companies. In general, strategy refers to the long-term plan of actions which is established to enable companies to achieve their organizational goal. It is the basis which will serve as a standard for the company to efficiently achieve their goal. Based on the give case, it can be said that the main strategic approach of the company is with regards to their ability to transform the entire corporation into a company that provides the latest in the media corporations accordingly, the main goal of News Corporation is to create an industry which is unified, logical and creative. The goal of the management is to build an industry with the agility and alertness to find strategic opportunities when they arise, with the notion to anticipate and intervene challenges through the use of conventional wisdom. With the mission of the company to provide the highest quality content through the most convenient of distribution channels among various customers, the company has been able to provide quality and state of the arts media services and productions that suits the needs of the people in the global market. Theoretical Framework This part of the paper will analyse News Corporation through the use of Business model and Analytical tools. The business model to be considered is the strategic option to diversification and the analytical tools will be the use of SWOT analysis. Business Model (Motivation for Diversification to Satellite Broadcasting) Accordingly, Strategic or effective management is known as the process of formulating, implementing and assessing cross-functional decisions which enables different firms to achieve their organizational objective (Drejer, 2002). With this definition, strategic or effective management is said to give focus on integrating marketing, management, finance, research and development production/operations and computer information system to sustain competitive advantages. This definition is said to be in the contemporary business, however, in line with the perspective of the top management, strategic or effective management is the ability of the firm to choose the markets in which the companys distinctive capabilities gain competitive position. In addition, the management views strategic or effective management as the one which is adaptive and incremental in nature and aims on fulfilling the expectation of the stakeholders. Accordingly, stakeholders are composed of the management of the compa ny, the employees and staff the customers, communities and other shareholders and rivals. The management aims on having a strategy which enables them to provide the needs of these stakeholders (Campbell, 2002). In doing so, the management is trying to find ways to meet the needs of the stakeholders and this is done through constant communication. By means of communication, the management has been able to clearly relay the purpose of the company to sustain competitive advantage. It has been also believed that key to having strategic or effective management is through empowering their stakeholders, allowing them to be part of the decision making process and enabling them to be part of the business operations (David, 2001). The management perspective of strategic or effective management is to deliver superior stakeholder experience through direct, comprehensive stakeholder relationship and support programs tailored to satisfy stakeholders need. In the case of The News Corporation, it can be said that the company has been able to use a strategic business model to be able to stay in their competitive position and to be able to provide quality services to their target audiences. One of the business models used by the company is the diversification of their business portfolio into satellite broadcasting. Accordingly, the main goal of the News Corporation to diversify is to cater to the emerging needs of the market. In this regard, the News Corporation has been able to launch the UK Sky Television on February 5, 1989. The Sky television is a direct-to-home satellite broadcasting. The main motivation of News Corporation to diversify is to anticipate the intensifying communication in terms of communications satellite broadcasting services. In addition, News Corporation also diversify to become more innovative in providing their services and media coverage to their target audience in terms of switching from analogue to digital and to consider multichannel broadcasting. Furthermore, another motivation of the News Corporation to diversify into Satellite broadcasting is to provide a new strategy in terms of programme material distribution. Through this diversification the company has been able to provide opportunities for any broadcaster to increase their channel distribution which allows the distribution of different programmes to different countries. Analytical Tool This part of the paper will analyse the strategic position of News Corporation through the use of SWOT analysis. Based on the given case, the strategic position of the News Corporation specifically their BSkyBs position has been challenged because of the changing situations of the media market. Rival industries of the company has been able to announced the establishment of the first quadruple play media company in the global market which offers television, broadband, fixed line and mobile communications. The announcement of this company affects the strategic position of the entire News Corporation. In order to make sure that the company will not be left behind, News Corporation has been able to involve themselves into the expansion to technological developments. Through the use of SWOT analysis, the strategic position of News Corporation in 2006 will be analysed. Strengths. As a competitive and globally recognised media corporation, News Corporation has been able to have strategic position in the global market. In fact, when News Corporation streamlined in 2003 to 2006, it already had the advantage of size. With several consecutive years of multibillion profits, the company has outshined its major rival companies to become a model firm. Also, News Corporations decision to focus on diversified market and by considering satellite broadcasting and entering the internet market through MySpace.com was a courageous one, but it has led to its current position as one of the top global brands. The firm has likewise been characterised by many analysts to have an ability to adapt to changing market conditions in order to maximise profit. Listening to and identifying with consumers has allowed News Corporation to construct a corporate culture that bears little resemblance to the News Corporation of the past. The ability to continuously renew and improve their service in the media, internet and communication while effectively managing the needs of their target audience is the key to maintaining News Corporations leader status and the key for succeeding in having strategic position. Weaknesses. Not all of diversification and approach have been successful and this can be considered as one of the flaws or weaknesses of the company. Analysts have accused the company of focusing too much on their high-end acquisitions and diversification in spite of the risky effects of such decisions. Opportunities. The basis for long-term competitiveness is the ability to develop continuously new generations of more advanced media products and services. Therefore one of the companys opportunities is to tap into more markets as a result of the innovations being introduced in the media and television and internet industry Localised capabilities enabling or even enhancing such co-operation will always make a difference when it comes to first-mover advantages. The opportunity to penetrate new growth markets where internet media adoption still has room to go, Leveraging News Corporations infrastructure business to get first choice and stronger position against rivals is also an opportunity. They also have the opportunity to get ahead of their rival companies, and this should be the case, since the said market is a potential sizeable source of income. The trend of considering the internet market also show cases new opportunities for the company specifically with their acquisition of th e MySpace.com Threats. Rival companies are major threats to the business. News Corporation, in contrast, started out in other lines of business and entered broadcast and media capabilities of the company. The firms inability to keep up with innovations, or recognise its demand, creates a threat for them, a risk that they could be displaced by other industry leaders. The legal and political environment in the countries where they operate in could potentially affect the business negatively. Their apparent complacence could be used by their rival companies to their advantage, and take News Corporation by surprise, with the latter realising too late that they are not the industry leader anymore. Application (Advantages and Disadvantages of Acquisition Method) With regards to the largest media deals from 1981 to 2002, The News Corporation has been involved in one of these media deals. The company has been able to acquire Gemstar-TV Guide and TNC also acquire DirecTV and also brought small stakes of 20th century fox and other local TV stations. In addition, the company started a satellite TV system for their UK subscribers and also invested in another TV system in Asia which is Star and has their cable Fox News Network. The latest acquisition of the News Corporation is their acquisition of MySpace.com which is the largest social networking website in the World Wide Web. Primarily, the acquisition approach of News Corporation has taken some advantages and disadvantages to the overall performance and strategic position of the company. Accordingly, there are two basic models of acquisition, one is through cash and the other is through the stock swap. Based on the given case, one of the advantages of acquisition in News Corporation is in terms of market growth. With the acquired company, News Corporation has been able to diversify their products and business portfolio and meet the needs and demands of their target audience. In addition, through the acquisition, the company has also been able to see their potentials in different market including the internet market. The management has also been able to grow in terms of investment and grow in terms of market shares. The company has more opportunities to provide the latest products or services in the interactive media which may lead to further success of the company. Although the company has some advantages with their acquisition, News Corporation also faced some disadvantages. One of this is the threat of not fulfilling the needs of the acquired company which results in major downturn or bankruptcy of the entire industry. In addition, with so much company at stake, the management is being challenged to be able to meet all the needs of each of the company acquire to stay competitive in the market position. The acquisition entails large values of financial resources involved and if the company would not be able to manage the acquired industries strategically, all their hard work will end to major fallback for the entire industry. In order to maximize the advantage and minimize or eliminate the disadvantages, the company must be able to use strategic management approach to handle all their subsidiaries and acquired industries. Analysis Based on the given analysis, it can be shown that with the management approach of the News Corporation, the company has been able to grow in the media market efficiently and successfully. With the ability of the management to visualize what is needed to grow in the media and broadcasting market, the management considered different approaches and business models such as diversification and acquisition approach. Analysis also shows that with the aim of the company to stay in the competitive and strategic position, they are able to anticipate major challenges and maximize their strategic abilities to meet the needs of their target audience and outgrow rival industries in the global market. Findings Based on the findings, the following are the strategic development plan for the company from 2006 onwards. Strategic Planning is part of the marketing approach wherein the management team determines ways and techniques to initiate the corporate discount in a corporate unit. Strategic planning can be used in when an organisation intends to instigate or initiate a certain marketing decisions that will enhance the competitiveness of the organisation (Elkin, 1998). With proper implementation of such plan and with the strong commitment of the management as well as the employees with this plan, growth, stability and competitive advantage will be achieved by the corporation. For this strategic development plan, it is recommended that the management of News Corporation should focus on managing all the conglomerate and subsidiaries of the company. In addition, to be able to maximize their advantage in acquiring MySpace.com, the management should be able to manage this strategically. In line with the marketing development, the company should maximize the use of their financial resources in the latest trends in the market environment. They also need financial resources, to sustain their strategic development in considering employee trainings to ensure that the changes in line with their interactive media planning sill be successful. In this strategic development, it can be said that the commonness of the two is the initiation of the strategic planning. Accordingly, strategic Planning is part of the strategic development wherein the management team identifies ways and techniques to initiate the development or execute their objectives. Strategic planning can be utilised when an organisation intends to instigate or initiate a certain project, in this case the News Corporation information technology development and interactive media development and the marketing strategy development that will enhance the competitiveness of the organisation (Elkin, 1998). The strategic plan for each development, specifically in terms of their resource planning, assures that the company only utilised a strategic planning approach that will benefit the company to achieve its goal. In this manner, the management of News Corporation should be able to incorporate strategic planning and implementation in line with its resources for both strategic developments. Conclusion It can be concluded that the management must be able to know what is happening in the internal and external environment of the business. This is also done to know if changes are needed to meet the needs of these factors and to avoid problems in terms of the four management functions. Hence, strategic management through proper planning, organizing, leading, and controlling is needed. Through this, the management will also be able to counter the negative impact of globalization, technology, innovation, diversity and ethics.

Temperamental Contributions to the Development of Social Behavior :: Jerome Kagan

The comprehensive research conducted by Jerome Kagan was very interesting but extremely complex regarding the temperamental concepts that contributed to the development of social behavior. I was surprised to learn that based on Freud’s psychoanalysis minds were turned â€Å"away from a temperamental category of person who was especially vulnerable to acquiring a symptom to a category of environment that produced systems. The adjective fearful became a continuous dimension on which any person could be placed† (p.377). Moreover, I strongly disagreed with the Thomas-Chess temperamental dimensions that were obtained from questionnaires by parents or other adults, as it related to their child. The information obtained could bias the study or research. However, I strongly agree with the descriptive perspective of observation to define temperament. In addition, I strongly agreed with how Kagan viewed the two profiles of inhibited and uninhibited temperaments: â€Å"Qualitative, defined by behavioral observations, influenced by genetic Factors and leading to distinctly different psychological outcomes with growth† (p.379). On the other hand, infant reactivity was complex and unclear relative to inhibited and uninhibited temperaments of infants. Are high reactive infants inhibited? Are low reactive infants uninhibited? What about the remaining infants in the research who had high motor arousal with low irritability or low motor arousal with high irritability? In addition, I strongly agreed with Kagan’s concept that inhibited and uninhibited behaviors are heritable. The study by Matheny regarding identical and fraternal twins as it related to inhibited and uninhibited behavior was very informative and clear.

Homelessness and Vagabond Essay

Vagabonds are normally despised by the society. What happens when they are treated like an ordinary respectable human being is the main theme of this story. Introduction: The vagabond who is often chased by people is welcomed by an old man. In spite of the good nature of the old man the vagabond robs him. He later returns the money due to the good deeds and kind nature of a young lady. Summary: The vagabond sold self made rattraps. He made the rattraps with wire which he got by begging in the stores or big farms. At times he used to beg and steal, he had a philosophy of his own the entire world was a sort of rattrap. People were lured by the various pleasures of life just as a rat is attracted by cheese or pork. One day he met an old man as he was seeking shelter for the night. He was given hot porridge, tobacco to smoke and they even played cards. The old man showed the vagabond his money pouch and the three ten kroner notes. He slept that at the old man’s house and the next day he left the house with the three notes. He wandered into the forest for fear being caught for his thievery. He lost his way and finally stumbled into Ramsjo Ironworks in search of warmth and shelter. The owner of the Ironworks mistakes him to be an old friend and took him home. The vagabond played along but later requested to go back to the warmth of the forge. The Ironmaster sent his daughter to bring him back. The gentle and kind nature of the young lady made him follow her. Once he cleaned and shaved, the Ironmaster realized that he was a stranger. He asked the vagabond to leave his house but his daughter wanted him to stay. He ate and slept the entire day. On Christmas Eve the Ironmaster and his daughter went to church. At the church they heard that a vagabond had stolen money from an old man who had worked as crofter at Ramsjo Ironworks. The young lady became very sad and the Ironmaster was sure that all his silver spoons would have disappeared. On their return the valet said that the vagabond had left and he did not take anything along with him. On the contrary he left a small gift for the young lady. The vagabond had returned the stolen money along with a rattrap as a gift to the young lady. He wrote a note thanking her for her kindness and asked her to return the money back to the old man. The money was like bait that drew him to it and he would have been like a rat who got caught in the trap called ‘love of money’. Conclusion: The author has very well brought the condition of the vagabond. It is important to treat them as human beings and maybe a little love and affection can work wonders in transforming them into honest and sociable people.

The Health Nutritional Education

When parents send their children off to college, they might entertain the notion that their little darlings, having been brought up with the four basic food groups, will continue to practice impeccable dietary habits. Little do they know that their children skip meals, guzzle soda by the case, subsist on a diet that would make a mother cringe (Baker 12). Quick and easy meals are most attractive to students, so the microwave plays a major role in student's living habits. One half of all students say they use a microwave everyday, reports Roper CollegeTrack, an annual survey of student's behavior and attitudes. When college students arrive on campus there are so many changes they must go through. The simple fact of not being home can cause major amounts of stress, therefore changing a young-adult's eating habits. From my personal experiences as a college student, I have seen one of two things happen to students: they either gain weight or lose weight. When I came to college I weighed 150lbs. By the time I went home for my first Christmas break I weighed 173lbs. I got bigger, but not necessarily fatter. I weighed more, but my pants fit more loosely. A steady diet and consistent physical activity are the two keys to keeping the body you want during the most hectic, unstructured time of your life. My roommate played football with me my freshman year and weighed approximately 280lbs. He decided not to play anymore and wanted to lose weight. He began to workout and dieting right. He now weighs approximately 245lbs. This is a prime example of knowing what is right to eat for you. College students who leave home to live on campus or in an apartment face a period of transition during which they must assume greater responsibility for themselves, and this includes responsibility for their nutrition and dietary habits. Differences in dietary habits among college students have been well documented. Several factors have been shown to influence food selection, including gender, the desire to lose weight, age, academic major, and body-image perception. The location of residence has also been shown to influence food selection, but the relation between food selection and nutrient intake has not been documented (Beerman 1). For many students, living on a university campus is a traditional period between living at home with parents and living independently. Food decisions are among the newest responsibility that many students' face. Because new eating habits developed during these years, both negative and positive, are likely to be maintained, nutrient education effects have been targeted towards this group. The amount of information that people know about nutrition does not always affect what they eat. Many college students who do not major in nutrition take a course in basic nutrition, and the changes in student's concerns, habits, and knowledge of nutrition because of taking such a course were studied. Not all college students are required to take a nutrition course as a requirement to complete their degree. I believe that it would make a major difference in eating habits of many college students if they did. I took a â€Å"mini poll† in Whiteford Hall. I asked twenty different girls what their biggest nutritional fear of coming to college was. All twenty girls said that they were scared to get fat or gain weight. I asked them if they were going to take this nutrition course any time during their education here. Only seven said they would consider taking the course. I have not yet completed this course, but I have learned so many new things about my body and the way the works. Now I feel that I can lead a healthy life from the knowledge I have accumulated from this course. Upon completing a basic nutrition course, students felt that they had learned a lot about nutrition, but only 45 percent said that they made changes in their eating habits because of this. The only statistically significant change in food habits was the tendency to drink low-fat milk. Most also decreased their use of vitamins and mineral supplements (Mitchell 7). The Basic Nutrition course for the non-nutrition major may be the most widespread, in-depth means of teaching nutrition to college students. This course provides both academic and practical nutritional education, so the teaching is complicated by the need â€Å"to create informed consumers who value good nutrition and consume nutritious foods throughout their lives. Classroom tests measure textbook nutritional knowledge, but the practical application is not measurable. Several studies have found that nutritional knowledge is not predicting of dietary practices (Mitchell 8). I don't agree with this statement. I believe that the more nutritional knowledge that you have, the better you will eat. If you know something is bad for your body, I'm sure you will refrain from eating it. You might not totally remove it from your diet, but you will probably lower your intake of the specific item. If you have no knowledge of the nutritional value of what you eat, you will have no chance of being a healthy person. College is a very demanding time in your in your life, both physically and mentally. You need all of the help you can get. Having a consistently healthy diet can play a major role in your college existence. You need the right type of energy to complete all of your daily tasks. If you have no knowledge of dietary requirements or the nutritional value of different foods, you can not make the right decisions for food consumption. College students indicated that the greatest value of improved nutrition was better health in the future. This should be considered in motivating students to make dietary changes (Mitchell 8). Vegetarian eating habits are popular among college-aged and teenage people. About 15 percent of the 15 million college students eat vegetarian meals. However, vegetarianism is more popular among women than men. 50 percent of women ages 18-19 believe in vegetarianism. Many young vegetarians choose not to eat meat in order to reduce the intake of fat, but some will occasionally eat meat. However, young vegetarians definitely do not prefer vegetarian-style meat products (Walker 6). To many Americans, the term â€Å"vegetarian† conjures up images of hippies noshing on tofu and brown rice. But a new generation of vegetarians may bring meatless eating out of the extreme and into the mainstream. The new bastions of vegetarianism are college campuses (Walker 7). Young women seem to be driving the trend toward meatless eating. Nearly 50 percent of women college students say vegetarianism is in compared with the 33 percent of men students, according to Roper CollegeTrack. Pamela Limpitt, food service purchasing director for the University of Pennsylvania, agrees: â€Å"I'd say 9 in 10 of our vegetarian students are women (Walker 12). A survey of young female athletes at a midwestern university reveals that nutrition knowledge is positively related to healthy eating practices. Data on these two indicators were collected to compare nutrition between female high school and college athletes in 1992. Analysis shows that the older athletes had more accurate nutrition knowledge and better eating habits than their younger counterparts. Moreover, a significant proportion indicated that they often turn to their coaches and trainers for this type of information, suggesting that physical education teachers can shape nutrition attitudes (Buch 1). Coaches and others who work with athletes must teach young people how to select nutritious foods that will promote a lifetime of good health. Young female athletes' concerns about weight and body image strongly influence their eating practices. Knowledge alone is not enough to ensure good dietary habits. Attitudes also affect behavior (Buch 2). Nutrition knowledge is positively associated with age, education, dietary pattern, sources of nutrition education, and length of time in a sport (Frederick & Hawkins, 1992; Perron & Endres, 1985). Other important factors, such as concern for weight and the dependence on others for food selection, also affect food consumption (Barr, 1987). Athletes are always concerned with their performance and how to improve it. They may work to improve their technique, lift weights, or add the right nutrients in their body to perform at optimum levels. The only problem is that any athletes do not have the proper nutritional knowledge to make the right dietary decisions. For example, to build one pound of lean tissue, an athlete must consume approximately 98 grams of protein and 2,800 calories for extra energy to synthesize muscle (Williams, 1988). If this were the athlete's goal for a week it would mean 14 grams of protein and 400 calories per day in addition to the usual diet. Fourteen grams of protein can be obtained in two glasses of milk or two ounces of lean meat. With a small amount of additional protein and enough fuel from complex carbohydrates, muscle building can occur. This is all very simple if you have the knowledge. Most athletes think that for muscle building you must take supplements or just eat a lot in general. This is why nutritional education is so important for an athlete to succeed in a very competitive age of sports competition. College is a very hard time for a young adult to be worrying about too many things at once. They have been fed all of their lives and been taught what is good and what is bad for them. There are some many outside factors that make your food selections for you. Many of these choices, you have no control over. That is why I believe nutritional knowledge is so very important in a college student's survival. If you eat the right things you will have no weight or health problems. A good diet can ensure a long energetic life. During your college years you need all of the energy you need to pull â€Å"all nighters† during exams and when writing nutrition papers. The more knowledge you have the better your body will feel and the healthier you will be.