What Is Rites of Passage - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1142 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/08/15 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Rite of Passage Essay Did you like this example? Rites of passage describe the ceremonies that are associated with certain transitional moments in an individuals life (Cunningham 74). In Hinduism there are samskaras. These are Hindu rites of passage. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What Is Rites of Passage?" essay for you Create order They are not just formalities or ceremonies to celebrate periods of transition in a Hindu individuals life. They serve to purify the soul at critical junctions in lifes journey, (Rites of Passage). The word samskara means mental impression, these ceremonies create a positive feeling about moving from one phase of life into the next. There are various samskaras all throughout the different stages of life (Rites of Passage). One of these samskaras is called upanayana. This rite of passage is the beginning of the acceptance of a student by a guru. It marks an individuals entrance to a school in Hinduism (Rites of Passage).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The age varies, while it is usually children between the ages of eight and sixteen years of age (Upanayana: a Hindu Rite of Passage), another source says the ceremony can be performed between the ages of five and twenty-four (Britannica). This is because the three upper classes of the Hindu caste system, Brahmans which are priests and teachers, Kshatriyas who are warriors and rulers, and Vaishyas known as merchants and tradesmen, have different educational requirements (Britannica). During this event the child, usually a boy but can be a girl, is given a sacred thread called janeu. They must wear this thread for the rest of their life (Upanayana: a Hindu Rite of Passage). The thread has a loop made of three knotted and twisted strands of cotton cord. The knots are symbolical. The thread is replaced regularly so that the wearer can have it throughout their life time. It is normally worn over the left shoulder and diagonally across the hip. This shows the w earer is divija or twice born. The second birth having taken place when the guru shared the knowledge of the Gayati mantra to the student and wearer of the thread (Britannica). The person going through upanayana is taught the secret of life through brahmopadesam or revealing the nature of Brahman, the ultimate reality. This is otherwise known as the Gayatri mantra (Upanayana: a Hindu Rite of Passage). The ceremony ends when the student kindles the sacrificial fire and pleads for alms. This represents his dependence on others during his brahmacharin period (as a child he cannot fully depend on himself yet) (Britannica). Upanayana itself means taking somebody near knowledge. This expresses the simplest meaning for what the ceremony is all about. A child entering their education.   A second meaning of the word is that which is above. Meaning the thread that is worn above the shoulder after this ceremony. Elaborating on the symbolism of the thread, the thread is usually ninety-six times breadth of four fingers of a man. This is believed to be equal to a mans height. The four fingers represent one of the four states that the soul of a man goes through. These are waking, dreaming, sleeping without dreaming, and knowledge of the absolute. The three threads themselves represent three Goddesses. The Goddess Gayatri of the mind, the Goddes Saraswati of the word, and the Godddess Savitri of deed. It is saying that anyone who wears the sacred thread should be pure in thought, word, and deed. It is a reminder to the wearer that they should live their life in a good way with purity. A reminder that life is not lived for oneself but for others and that a debt is owed to the guru, the parents, and the society. Another important aspect of the thread is the knot in the center. This represents Brahman, the pure form of energy which is in everything and makes up everything (Upanayana). The ceremony can vary between regions and customs. In an upanayana ceremony based on traditional Mithila Brahman customs there are multiple days to the ceremony. Mithila is a region of the ancient Videha Kingdom and is heavily influenced by the Goddess Durga. There is the day of Shagun. All the female family members will apply haldi or turmeric oil and dub grass to the childs foreheads, arms, stomach, and legs. This is called ubtan and it is done to preserve the symbolic meaning of rebirth. They are not allowed to wash it off until the end of the ceremony. After this family members invite the deity they worship into the ceremony. Once this is done the upanayana officially starts. The next day is the Mandap Puja. Here all the family members have arrived, and they make an animal sacrifice to their deity as an offering. These do not occur in all villages though, again it varies from region to region. The animal is cooked and served to all the guests. There are large celebratory dances. There is the day of Puja. It begins with prayer and offering to ancestors and more dancing and singing. The series of rites begins and the children entering the ceremony are given special garments for their period of learning under the gurus. This is when they receive the Gayatri mantra that was mentioned above. They then go to their mothers and ask for bhiksha or alsm and blessings. Next, they go to the temples, where their hair is cut. This symbolizes the beginning of a new life. The children participating will then go where eleven male brahmins (priests and teachers or the guru) stand while reciting the Gayatri mantra. This is where they receive their sacred thread or jeanu. They wear it over the left shoulder and under the right arms. Each one is then made to stand on a stone slab. Which symbolizes how strong the resolve is that accompanies a life of learning. Once more they go to family members, mainly female, and ask for gifts. The gifts normally consist of gold, jewelry, and c lothing. To finish out the event the family celebrates once more with song and dance. The main part of upanayana has ended. As new brahmins, these students are expected to be committed to education for as long as they live. They are to live with honor and duty and to avoid impurity, dirtiness, and immoral behavior. The threads very meanings support this. Those who go through the rite of passage that is upanayana are expected to carry on the Vedic tradition and to ensure that its teachings and reflections are applied to all Hindu society (Upanayana: a Hindu Rite of Passage) This ceremony marks the transition from childhood to the growth towards adulthood and knowledge. It is celebratory and represents the awe of people surrounding growth in general and the progression of life. Upanayana can also be considered a rite of initiation. As it initiates a child into a student. Hinduism has so many different and important rites of passage. Upanayana is only one of the many important samskaras.

Women, Sisters, And Wives Women Essay - 1485 Words

Princesses, Sisters, and Wives: Women Portrayed in Ancient Greece It is convenient to pride modernity for all the progression it has made since ancient times, particularly when it comes to gender equality. In Homer’s The Odyssey and Sophocles’ Antigone, the ancient societal view of women is blatant in the text whether it is in Creon’s sexist remarks or referring to the disloyal maids of Odysseus as â€Å"sluts, who lay with suitors† (Homer, XXII.516), but in these same works, this status quo is challenged by providing many examples of hospitable, strong willed, and dedicated women. In Antigone specifically, the plays overarching theme of righteousness standing up against powerful corruption is analogous to the gender specific struggle of having societal views of, in the case of the Ancient and Classical Greeks, inferiority enforced upon women. These works provide an ancient cultural outlook on women but challenges them through the characters, such as a xenia filled princess, an idealistic, fiery sister, and a faithful ye t skeptical wife. The cultural outlook upon women is very clear from both of these narratives. At the beginning of Antigone, Ismene reminds her sister, â€Å"We must remember we are women, / so not to fight with men.† (Sophocles, 61-62) This internalized hopelessness enflames Antigone’ frustration and connects to the larger ethos of truth that is defined by Plato: â€Å"True reality will be denied by the individuals who have not witnessed other realities, believing that theShow MoreRelatedDiscrimination Of Women In The Color Purple By Alice Walker712 Words   |  3 PagesNearly three in ten women are in a, or have been in an abusive relationship. The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a novel about a girl named Celie, and her sister Nettie, who are stuck in the south in the early twentieth century. Celie and her sister battle for their lives, against the discrimination of colored women. After Nettie escapes, Celie is left to fend for herself married to a man who abuses her. Men believe th at they can take advantage of women until the women prove them wrong. At the beginningRead MoreSexual Revolution971 Words   |  4 Pagesrestrictions behaviorally, there was restriction on â€Å"sexual liberation.† Women eventually revolted against oppression, aiming for their â€Å"sexual liberation,† by showing more skin with their clothing options. Rupp declared in lecture that states and cultures both mobilize and contain women’s sexuality: sometimes both at the same time. She said that we tend to think of containing sexuality: publicly about honor killings of girls and women, and sometimes even if raped, in Afghanistan or Pakistan or TurkeyRead MorePolygamy1035 Words   |  5 PagesIs Polygamy Socially Acceptable? The reality TV show Sister Wives follows the lives of a polygamist family of 22. The husband, Cody Brown, has 4 wives: Meri, Janelle, Christine, and the latest addition Robyn. The number of polygamists in North America, estimated at 50,000 or more, is doubling every decade. Polygamy by definition is a marriage that includes more than two partners. When a man is married to more than one woman at the same time it is called polygany and when a woman is married to moreRead MoreWomen Of Deh Koh There Is An Extreme Amount Of Pressure On Women1267 Words   |  6 Pagescommunity, and even people within an oppressed community. In Erika Friedl’s Women of Deh Koh there is an extreme amount of pressure put on women to follow societal norms. The novel takes place in a remote village in Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The previous government was replaced with one based on Islamic law and women are subjected to its provisions, which are often times unequal and creates disparities in society. The women in this village experience pressure from the men in their communityRead MoreAnalysis Of Gibsons `` Television Special `` Polygamy On The Christian Family?1116 Words   |  5 PagesGibson (2010) also frames polygamy in the context of women struggles and not being able to control their own lives. Gibson gives his opinion on polygamy and how it violates the Christian family. Gibson (2010) argues that polygamy came about because of â€Å"systematic patriarchy.† Gibson gives information on Anderson Cooper’s television special Polygamy in America, Cult or Calling? which discusses the capture of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. Gibson (2010) explains how America’s recent fascinationRead MoreComparison Of Fanny Fern And Charlotte Perkins Gilman982 Words   |  4 Pagesshort stories. â€Å"Hints to Young Wives,† by Fanny Fern, is about a woman desperately trying to warn young wives about their sneaky husbands.  Gilman’s piece, â€Å" The Yellow Wallpaper† is about a young wife and mother who has recently began to suffer symptoms of depression and anxiety. Although she does not believe that anything is wrong with her, John, her physician husband, diagnoses her with a nervousness disease, curing it only with rest. In Ferns writing Hints to Young Wives as well as Gilman’s The YellowRead MoreEssay about Confucianism and Raise the Red1275 Words   |  6 Pagesa new theme emerging in society especially amongst the Chinese reformers: the theme of individualism oppose to familialism. Today, would the Confucian family be more and more aware of abuse to women and children? The rituals and traditions can be seen as both positive and negative. The ways in which women suffered affirm that some rituals were abusive. There are multiple signs indeed that something has gone badly wrong with the Chinese family traditions that led to family instability. To beginRead MoreSummary Of Wives Of The Dead 952 Words   |  4 Pages Brianna Veal Hensley 11 English Honors 2nd 20 January 2017 ?Wives of the Dead? Summary Nathaniel Hawthorne sets the scene of his lesser known short story, ?The Wives of the Dead,? in a Bay Province seaport on a dreary autumnal day. In this short story, the two main characters are Mary and Margaret, two women who were the recent brides of two brothers who had been killed on Atlantic voyages and in Canadian warfare. The women, although they were thankful for the kindness of their sympatheticRead MoreThe Legalization Of Polygamy1349 Words   |  6 Pagesunnatural as it seems, many successful people have been in multiple marriages at once. The founder of the Mormons, Joseph Smith Jr., had up to thirty-three wives, all ranging from the ages of fourteen to sixty. One of the most widely known polygamous families even has their own television show. TLC’s Sister Wives tells the tale of a man and his four wives and seventeen kids living a happy and prosperous life in Utah. In hopes to raise awareness of polygamous families, they keep the show running to fightRead MoreT he Women s Rights Movement1711 Words   |  7 PagesFrom the beginning of time women have always had it harder than men. Rights were always limited for women. Till today there is still that a disadvantage for women in areas such as the work place and how women earn less money than men do. Like many rights women did not have, women were not allowed to vote. It was not until June fourth of 1919 congress passed the nineteenth amendment that guaranteed all American women the right to vote and it was ratified on August eighteen of 1920. If it was for

Mcdonald’s Case Study Free Essays

McDonald’s and Obesity Case Study Reaction Paper McDonald’s Corporation is encountering a paradigm shift in the manner in which society views responsibility and ownership of issues. Society appears to be moving away from personal responsibility and to one of corporate responsibility. The question that McDonald’s must continually face is â€Å"Should s person be able to sue a company because the coffee is too hot or because a video game caused them to become addicted? (Schmaltz, 2010) A review of violent incidents at the G-8 Summits highlight the view dominant in a part of society – that corporations are not to be trusted. We will write a custom essay sample on Mcdonald’s Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now The 2001 G8 Summit evidenced â€Å"massive street protests† against â€Å"global capitalism†. Media outlets termed the riots of 2001 as staples of the Summit process. (G8 summit braces for more violence, 2001) The mob unrest issues at the Summits continued with excessive violence as shown at the G20 Summit in Toronto in 2010. Violence, vandalism rock G-20 protests, 2010) In Toronto, 1118 protestors were arrested because of massive and violent mob retaliation at the G20 Summit venue. (2010 G-20 Toronto summit protests, 2010) American corporations such as, McDonald’s were the targets of vandalism. (2010 G-20 Toronto summit protests, 2010) Financial abuse by corporations such as Enron, AIG, Bear Stearns, (StockMarket Crash of 2008, 2011) have contributed to the view that corporations and especially global and multinational corporations are trustworthy. It is this current view of global corporations that McDonald’s faces which lead to a cultural view that is negative against the corporation. In the realm of personal responsibility, the 2004 Congress passed a bill called â€Å"The Cheeseburger Bill† (Munger, 2004) the purpose of which was to ensure that â€Å"food manufacturers and sellers should not be held liable for injury because of a person’s consumption of legal, unadulterated food and a person’s weight gain or obesity†. Munger, 2004) Americans do not believe that eating fast-food falls into the same category as smoking as it related to addiction, health consequences and responsibility. (Munger, 2004) According to a July 21, 2003 Gallup poll, most Americans – 89 percent – do not think that the fast food industry is legally responsible for diet related problems. (Munger, 2004) Europeans, and this is case is a UK based case, are more open to tighter controls on advertising and spec ifically advertisements that are targeted to children. Munger, 2004) MP Debra Shipley has been trying to pass bills limiting food advertisements to children but has been unsuccessful to this point. (Fast food firms face screen test, 2003) (Poulter, 2011) The research shows that society still looks to parental authority and parental responsibility to address the issue of childhood obesity. First Lady Michele Obama has taken Childhood Obesity as her personal platform. (Lee, 2010) The first of the four key pillars of Mrs. Obama’s platform is: Getting parents more informed about nutrition and exercise. Lee, 2010) In July, 2011, Mrs. Obama praised McDonalds for the changes that the corporation has made to their Happy Meal program whose market audience is children. (Jackson, 2011) Mrs. Obama is quoted in national media outlets with the following statements: Obama’s statement: â€Å"McDonald’s is making continued progress today by providing more fruit and reducing the calories in its Happy Meals. I’ve always said that everyone has a role to play in making America healthier, and these are positive steps toward the goal of solving the problem of childhood obesity. McDonald’s has continued to evolve its menu, and I look forward to hearing about the progress of today’s commitments, as well as efforts in the years to come. † (Jackson, 2011) This positive statement and attention from the First Lady and the Oval Office is a strong, positive and powerful response to all of the media fire that McDonalds has received in the past several years. In this single announcement, McDonalds has strengthened its position as a socially responsible corporation. September is known as Childhood Obesity Month helping to inform and bring awareness to healthy eating for all ages. The State of Georgia has an excellent ad campaign on this topic that gives focus to the prevailing view that is supported by research, that the children who eat thee foods are not the ones driving to the locations to eat nor are they the ones who are paying for the food. The real issue becomes parental responsibility. McDonalds Corporation will continue to benefit strongly form the support that they are receiving from First Lady Michelle Obama. It is obvious that McDonald’s aggressive reworking of their children’s menu is reaping strong benefits and receiving praise. For the long-term, McDonald’s needs to continue to remain focused on ensuring that they strengthen this segment of their market. McDonald’s has phenomenal logo and brand recognition as a provider of fast food. Ronald McDonald is recognized by 99% of all American children, (Munger, 2004) and eliminating his precense from the McDonald’s name would hinder their performance and damage their brand. The McDonald’s Happy Meal Marketing Strategy in the UK does not include any of the healthy food options that are available in the US. Since the UK and EU are more favorably predisposed to legislation against children’s advertising, (Munger, 2004) the UK division needs to move decisively to capitalize on what has been learned from the revised US menu. The UK division must rapidly conduct focused market research to determine the items that would be appealing for UK parents and children and look at a timeline for including such items in their menu. Baker, 2011) In another positive development for McDonald’s in the UK, the popular website, Mumsnet. com, reversed their three year ban on McDonald’s being allowed to advertise on their website. (Chapman, 2011) Mumsnet regulates the companies that are allowed to interact on its website through a vote of members. The fact that Mumset has allowed McDonald’s to place ads on its site, does appear to signal a shi ft in the viewpoint of UK parents. As marketing blogger, Stuart Smith, comments in the article â€Å"McDonald’s put in the mincer over Happy Meals marketing†. Smith, 2010) Controlling the media imagine especially in the current easy availabilityof social media, McDonald’s must be ever vigilant about its image and marketing strategy. McDonalds in the UK has implemented a website called Make Up Your Own Mind. At this site, any type of question about McDonalds and their product (Make up your own mind, 2011) can be asked and then are answered by McDonalds staff. Included on this site is an interactive tab entitled â€Å"The Happy Meal Unpacked†. McDonald’s happy Meal unpacked, 2011) McDonalds utilizes â€Å"Quality Scouts† who visit various supplier locations, make videos and publish them and written reports on the website. (Meet the Quality Scouts, 2011) The website for McDonald’s in the UK is excellent and a good marketing strategy. In utilizing this outlet, McDonald’s UK is able to rapidly address the questions that the public raises as well as garner responses from the public. Charlotte’s response to how Chicken Nuggets get into Happy Meals is delightful. (Haile, 2010) Not only is their website an accurate, nformation and excellent marketing tool, McDonald’s UK actively supports the programs that are central to the UK populace – Free Range egg production, Open Farms (http://www. mcdonalds. co. uk/openfarms/) To help ensure future successes in this realm of the industry, McDonald’s UK needs to focus a timeline strategy on researching nutritional food products that can be placed in the Happy Meal product. They should consider entering into sponsorship with family fitness centers to promote the importance of a healthy lifestyle as they already promote sports such as football and sponsors a variety of recreational club. http://www. mcdonalds. co. uk/sports/football/football-hub. sh tml) As many popular companies, branding is significant to success and appropriate branding is even more substantial. Ronald McDonald has become the staple brand for McDonald’s especially in their Happy Meals and children advertisinments. To take a brand such as Ronald McDonald for a food company and compare it to that of Joe Camel in the cigarette industry is unfair. The target markets (and messages thereto) that each one of these companies is after are completely different. It is agreed that both types of ads have promoted incorrect messages to children in one form or another, however one cannot compare cigarettes to food. McDonalds has made several changes and modifications to their menu to help lessen the effects of their food and better comply with a healthy lifestyle. They have started to offer a variety of different options to their customers so that they are given the opportunity to choose if they will take the healthier route of the route not as healthy. That option is ultimately completely up to the consumer, but at least it is there for them. Cigarettes on the other hand cannot be mad healthier or safer. Tobacco is tobacco and smoke is smoke and both lead to the same unfortunate results. As hard as companies try, cigaretts cannot be modified to become healthier for the consumer. As far as the elimination of Ronald McDonald to their advertisements, McDonalds would be taking away part of the brand that they have become. Everyone will recognize the golden arches and if a consumer wants a Big Mac, they will find a McDonalds to purchase one. The ultimate choice on what to eat lies within the consumer purchasing. At least McDonald’s is providing them with more options to ponder when making that choice. Following scandals in regards to obesity being caused by the Fast Food industry, new and innovative legal solutions linked advertising, nutrition, and public health communities in constructive ways. Under a law put into effect in France by spring 2007, for television and radio advertisements that deal with food or beverages (other than water), marketers can either add a government-proscribed health message to the advertisement or pay a tax equivalent of 1. % of their annual advertising budget. Money from the levy goes directly to the French national institute for health prevention and education, the body that promotes healthy living in France (Jardine and Wentz 2005). One of the following four short messages, created by government should be added to any advertisements for processed, sweetened, or salted foods on television, radio, billboards, and the Internet for products processed or so ld in France: * ‘For your health, eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day’ * ‘For your health, exercise regularly’ ‘For your health, avoid eating too many foods that are high in fat, sugar or salt’ * ‘For your health, avoid snacking between meals’. On television and in cinemas these health messages are shown on a thin horizontal band (corresponding to only 7 per cent of the height of the screen), or as a screened notice displayed just after the advertisement. On radio, the message is broadcast immediately after the advertisement. Printed materials include a horizontal message strip also corresponding to 7% of the total height of the advertisement. This law was adopted as result of concerns about rising levels of obesity and especially childhood obesity, coupled with unease about the influence of United States’ fast food and soft drink companies on consumption of food and beverages in France. The increasing availability of foods high in fat, sugar and salt (so called junk foods) across the world has made eating healthily a challenge. This law was designed to encourage healthy eating habits and exercising and a healthy lifestyle. Along with another French law requiring all nutritional valued to be displayed on the product package, the fast food tax law helped create awareness among French people in regards to the downside of unhealthy eating habits- quantitative and qualitative. However, this law did not discourage fast food advertising. MacDo France has almost one broadcast advertisement for each of the products offered to French consumers. For example, French channels broadcast a 23 seconds movie for the new burger CBO. It presents it to McDonald’s lovers as a sandwich with a new Chicken, Bacon, and Onion recipe that offers the perfect mix as its advertising shows. Also, they use a lot of billboards in all cities which could be explained by the huge amount of restaurants present in France. McDonald should adopt adding the healthy message to their advertising rather than paying the tax. In the past years McDonald’s enhanced their menu with healthy choices and published nutritional values of their meals. The healthy message plays along the company’s current marketing strategy. McDonald’s can use this law requirement as a marketing strategy and they can position themselves as health promoters rather than encouraging unhealthy meals. Below is a clip with a current French advertising. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=px2VxWmjR-oNR=1 The message written on the advertising reads, â€Å"For your Health eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables per day†. This is the healthy message required by law. This is McDonald’s choice for advertising in France and rather than paying 1. 5 percent in tax they chose to help spreading the health message. Whether or not obesity rates fall in countries that ban food advertisements, will not be a result of if the advertisement campaign was successful or not, but more on the consumer themselves. Every consumer is free to make their own choices when it comes to any purchase they make; therefor they will make the one that resonates best with what they want. The companies have the responsibility to provide healthier choices to offer their customers so that those looking to change their lifestyles or try something different, healthier, trendier, etc. have that opportunity. McDonald’s is making all of the right moves to provide healthier choices and better options to those consumers who choose to purchase those. References: G8 summit braces for more violence. (2001, July 21). Retrieved October 2, 2011, from www. cnn. com: How to cite Mcdonald’s Case Study, Free Case study samples

Challenges in the Implementation of New It Systems free essay sample

Davenport (1998) agrees that system implementation do come with enormous technical challenges but the complexities and technical challenges are not the main reason for the difficulties in implementing the systems but rather attributes it to business problems. Most information technology systems by their nature impose their own logic on a company’s strategy, organizations and culture. Some company’s may have their own customized processes that provide them with a competitive advantage and these processes may not necessarily be support by the new systems. As such the conflict between the logic of the systems and the logic of the business or the company can lead to an implementation failure and cause a great deal of disruption and possible weaken the company’s source of competitive advantage. To mitigate such a situation, companies must have a clear understanding of the business implications of installing any new system and its impact on their business and legal requirements before proceeding with its implementation. There may be the need for some customization to for the system to properly support the business. Such a scenario was encountered during an SAP implementation I was part of for my previous employer in Cote D’Ivoire. During the assessment stage we realized that Cote D’Ivoire had a complicated system for calculating the tax component on raw material imported into the country. This calculation process was not part of the SAP application since it was unique only to that country. We eventually had to make some change request and development in the SAP system to be able to accommodate this taxation calculation and developed another software that interfaced with SAP. Failure to identify and address this could have led to a significant implementation failure. This led to losing some amount of integration benefits of SAP but overall it also allowed us to meet the regulatory requirements of the country. Another potential area that can impact the implementation of new IT systems is failure to consider the employees who are the actual use of the ystem in the implementation process and ensure they are well trained and prepared to work with the new systems. Burke et al (2001) states that the success or failure of any implementation rests on the ability of those in charge to manage the human factors of the project. From personal experience implementing SAP, one key thing I noticed was that most of the staff in the early months after go-live were using the new system in ways similar to the old legacy systems they were used to. This divide between how the system was being used and how it actually should have been used did not ensure that the objective of the implement new systems was achieved. This also led to many complaints from staff and their managers about how the new system was making their jobs difficult. In as much as a lot of awareness was created about the new systems and most members of staff knew about it, there was a gap in training. Super users and trainers for some functional units were not able to effectively train all the end users on how to use the new systems. There was also a gap in the soft skills of some users especially the factory hands and warehouse staff who were not completely comfortable with barcode scanners and computers. The following recommendation made in the learning log by the implementation team to mitigate any such reoccurrence:- †¢During the early project tasks, there should be a mapping out of the roles and job function and the necessary training needs identified. Analyze the impact of the system on each job and ensure training is customized to enable employees perform their task †¢Ensure there is a training budget as part of the implementation process †¢Training should start as early as possible and day in life cycles should be used as part of the training scripts †¢Identify employees who need training on soft skills (use of computers, barcode scanners, etc. as part of the early project tasks and ensure they are trained prior to implement the new system In as much as implementation of IT systems can be complex, there is the need to ensure all the aspects of human intervention are properly address prior to implementation. Chopra and Meindl (2007) also suggest three ideas to keep in mind when implementing IT systems. First is to install new IT systems in incremental stages rather than a full scale implementation. The idea is to limit the damage should problems arise with the installation and also to make it easier to identify problem areas during installation. The second is to run both the new and old systems parallel for a period such that when a problem is encountered with the new systems in the early stages, the old system can be relied upon for business continuity while the issues are addressed. The final idea is to implement only the level of complexity that a company needs. New systems always seem to have a lot of functionality that most managers will like to have. The focus should always be on exactly what is needed and provides the benefit the company needs. References Burke, R. , Kenney, B. , Kott, K. and Pflueger, K. (2001) Success or Failure: Human Factors in Implementing New Systems. Chopra, S. Meindl, P. (2007) Supply chain management: Strategy, planning, and operation 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Davenport, T. H. (1998) â€Å"Putting the enterprise into the enterprise system. † Harvard Business Review, July-August 1