Thursday, October 31, 2019

Organizing Religious Landscapes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organizing Religious Landscapes - Essay Example Seeking to bring the analysis into a relevant current day application, the essay will seek to understand the means by which religious landscapes continue to define life, politics, and culture within the counties that comprise central Wisconsin. As a function of seeking to understand such a reality, it will be the hope of this author that such a level of research will help to shed a level of understanding on how and why certain regions have developed and exhibit some of the key indicators of both culture, religion, and politics that they do. Returning to the way in which religious barriers can differentiate a region or define a culture in a different way, one need look no further than the way in which many of the cultural and religious boundaries that exist within Europe have differentiated the entire continent in a way that it would not likely have been differentiated had religious differences not existed in the first place. Whereas the study of geography, anthropology, and sociology leads one to the understanding of how natural barriers and language barriers help to define and distinguish one group from another, religion serves no lesser nor more important purpose in achieving the same level of differentiation among individuals. To see a prime example of how geography can be decided upon religious terms alone, one need look no further than the way in which the British or French colonialists divided much of the world both in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia based upon religious lines. Evidence of this can of course be seen with regards to the creation of Lebanon, the creation of Papua New Guinea as compared to Indonesia, or the way in which African nations had their borders drawn specifically as a means of differentiating between animist, Muslim and/or Christian. However, geography and the means by which it is defined is not always chosen by an outside force. Oftentimes, the means by which geographic representations are determined are more often than not the r esult of domestic decisions and choices made at the lowest levels. This low-level decision making about what defines â€Å"the other† is oftentimes a result of the way in which religion and the practice thereof helps to differentiate one culture with regards to its neighbors. Due to the inherent truth that religion by its very nature seeks to instill a certain personal and group dynamic within the individuals that practice it, it is necessarily a formulary of the way in which culture is defined and comes to shape a given geography. However, it should not be understood that religious differences necessarily leads to the splitting of a nation or a state of war and/or conflict with another group of individuals. Rather, there are many religiously diverse regions within the world that live in more or less social cohesion and harmony. An obvious example of this would be with regards to the United States and many regions within Africa, Western Europe, and elsewhere around the globe. However, merely because a level of conflict does not exist should not be seen as an indication that the existence and adherence to different religions within diverse geographies does not have a

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Global consumer or Local consumer Essay Example for Free

Global consumer or Local consumer Essay Global consumer or Local consumer: Whenever the concept of Glo-cal comes into discussion the punch line of The Hong Kong Shanghai Bank comes into the mind which is â€Å"the world’s local bank†. Mooij in 2004 conducted a study to understand â€Å"Can consumers be differentiated as global and local consumers? If so then how are they identified? Global advertisement targeting global customer should have universal values to be successful. Because of this even Saatchi Saatchi, the advertising agency that was first to embrace the concept of global advertising, changed their opinion. Kevin Roberts, CEO worldwide of Saatchi Saatchi, stated in 2002: â€Å"Anyone who wants to go global has to understand the local – their own local and the locals of all their customers. People live in the local. I’ve never met a global consumer. I never expect to. We define ourselves by our differences. It’s called identity- self, family, and nation. † Global standardization of product or communication will not be helpful as the markets differ in their structures and socio-cultural frameworks. Consumer values and the advertisement values should be comparable when any offering is made. Douglas Daft, Coca-Cola’s CEO, stated in 2000: â€Å"People don’t buy drinks globally. † In the year 2000 the Coca-Cola Company, which had until then been the prototype of a global advertiser, decided to get closer to local markets because of declining profitability. Coca-Cola’s CEO Douglas Daft was quoted in the Financial Times, â€Å"We kept standardizing our practices, while local sensitivity had become absolutely essential to success. † According to Daft, the general direction is away from global advertising. â€Å"We need to make our advertising as relevant as possible to the local market. † As the sociologist-anthropologist David Howes says, â€Å"The assumption that goods like Coca-Cola on entering a culture will retain and communicate the values they are accorded by their culture of origin must be questioned. Often these goods are transformed in accordance with the values of the receiving culture. † (Mooij and Marieke K. de, 2004, p. 16) The global customer remains within the minds of the marketer while he serves local consumer even if his operations are global. As indicated by the work of various researchers it is clear that companies working globally actually serve the local customer and function â€Å"globally† . For the global success of any organization it needs to understand the local culture and preferences and design its business strategies around that. Conceptual Framework for Special Occasion Packaging Literature review has provided understanding of various concepts like packaging, culture, special occasion, gift packaging and many others. In the literature review there is clear indications of the interdependence of various demographic factors to the cultural and packaging variables. Individuals gender, age and ethnic background may be important factor of his/her culture and this will have influence on the way they make choices. Special occasions can be as personal as birthday to someone and can be a socio-cultural activity like Christmas. During the festival season what are the attributes of packaging which influence consumers, whether or not these attributes are related to the demographic profile of the consumer. How consumer would like to gift someone in terms of packaging and presentation of it. Packaging being an important aspect of the marketing mix it is crucial for marketer to understand the impact of packaging on the consumer especially when they are doing purchase for someone else as a gift. Packaging during special occasions can be characterized by the use of bright and attractive Colours, various shapes and styles, size, text and graphics materials. Packaging is important during festival season to the consumer as well as the marketer. Consumer wants to have special shopping for his near and dear ones where as marketer tries to utilize this opportunity to serve the consumer profitably. This study is an effort to understand the role of demographic profile and packaging attributes in the decision making of consumer during the festival seasons or special occasions. This investigation will enable managers to understand various aspects of packaging aesthetics and how products packaging can be designed keeping in mind these aesthetics in order to make delightful consumer experience within the marketplace Culture indicates the group norms within a society. People deviating from that group norm face the punishment of the group. Hence it is very different to bring a change within a night in the cultural sphere of an individual rather it would be easier to understand the culture and changing business strategies according to that. There has been constant change in the cultural set ups of various society. Worldwide the family influence is declining. The time with people is less as compared to what it used to even few decades back. People have less time for in – house, spouse or parent – child influence. The divorce rates are increasing and the numbers of living relationships are increasing. The marriage age is growing day by day and the age people attain parenthood has also changed. Most of the family is nuclear now. The level of religious influence is also changing. The educational institutions and the teaching methodologies, syllabus everything has changed from the past and has strong influence on the culture and society. Culture is being inculcated through family, religion and schools. It rewards socially gratifying responses and the person who adheres to the norms of culture. Culture is an adaptive concept. There are various factors which are being influenced by culture. These are as follows: †¢ Individual’s sense of self and space †¢ Communication and language within the society and outer world. †¢ Mental processes and learning. †¢ Work habits and practices †¢ Dress and appearance of an individual †¢ Food and feeding habits has changed due to changes in lifestyle and globalization. †¢ Less Time is available for each task and people have become time consciousness †¢ Equations of Relationships have changed. †¢ Values and norms are continuously changing within a society. †¢ Beliefs and attitudes get influenced by culture. Consumer behaviour Consumer is a king. This is the reason various companies are trying to serve their consumer in the best way they can. The markets are different worldwide. On one hand marketer has markets like UK and US which are matured one where innovation and holding the market share is important as competitions is real too tough. On the other hand markets like China and India are growing with their growing population and their needs. These markets required consistent effort to increase market share of the marketer. It becomes crucial for the marketer to understand consumer behaviour to offer the best solution to their needs and maintain or increase their customer base. She knew she was paying more per apple than if shed got them from the market stall or the corner grocers. She got four MS apples for the price of five, six or seven elsewhere but the MS variety were high-quality, washed and came in plastic, protective packaging, not a brown paper bag. (BLACKHURST 2004) Figure II. 3: Impact of Culture on Different Variables Individual Differences: Each individual differ with other in the resources s/he has. These consumer Resources are time, money, information reception and processing capabilities. Consumers come from different socio-economic backgrounds. The level of education they have and knowledge also differs from consumer to consumer. Throughout his life he develops attitudes towards things in his life. The factors which can motivate a person differ from person to person based on his background, age, family structure and so on. The personality of an individual customer, value system and lifestyle makes difference in his buying behaviour and information search process. Environmental Influences Any individual lives in a society where various external factors impact him. The government policies, sociological structures, culture, social class or status, personal influence, power it enjoys within the society, family and particular situation in his life has influence on his buying behaviour. Psychological Processes The psychological process is very important to understand consumer behaviour. While information processing it is possible that consumer has selective processing in which he sees or hears only those things which he wants to hear. For instance a person who is new father or mother is more likely to be attentive for the advertisements where infants or toddlers are shown. This selective attention is due to the particular period in their lifestyle, situation and family. This develops selective processing of the information. How fast or slow consumer is to learn new things, new product details and its benefits. How behaviour and attitude of consumer can be changed or changes. There are various factors influencing consumer decision making process. Some are as follows: Size Colour Intensity Contrast Position Directionality Movement Isolation Novelty Learned ‘stimuli’ Attractive spokesperson †¢ Attitude towards gifts packaging Hine (1995) states the importance of packaging in terms of psychological factors like feelings and excitement. According to Hine ‘every package and anything on a package is capable of triggering feelings such as excitement, as well as beliefs about the brand and its trustworthiness, because when we look at a package, we see a personality and a set of values. ’ Packaging is an effective tool utilized by people in order to convey mystery about the product inside, create excitement and interest and share happiness. . There are various attributes to packaging which impacts its overall presentation. These attributes are package design, Colour, material used and occasion. Good design has intrinsic appeal. This intrinsic appeal is essentially aesthetic. Colours are important attribute of any packaging be it normal packaging or gif packaging. There are certain products which can be recalled along with the Colours associated with them. For instance IBM with blue, Coca-Cola with red Hine (1995) further describes the emotional, cultural and expectation related importance of Colours used in packaging. Colours trigger physiological reaction in the receiver. This can be emotional. Blue can make a person calm while red can make him excited. There are various symbolic qualities attached to Colours. Colours come to symbolize general qualities in all cultures. These are as follows in the west: †¢ White—delicacy; †¢ Black— mourning or business; †¢ Red—strength, vitality, excitement, danger; †¢ Yellow—youth, hope, and cheer; †¢ Blue—harmony, honesty, and calmness; †¢ Green—the outdoors and country life; †¢ Brown—friendliness, trust, and reliability. People expect different things with the packaging they see for products and gifts. Howard (1992) states the importance of considering age and purpose factors in the gift wrapping for children. According to Howard (1992) â€Å"Childrens packaging is often a combination of unusual form and complex surface decoration. When my painting teacher in art school called me a great surface decorator, I knew it was not a compliment; yet, childrens surface decorating is meaningful and significant. † I. Methodology In the previous studies focus had ranged from studying the culture, packaging technologies, packaging aspects with the international context and many others. Though consumer feedbacks, socio-cultural influences, political legal frameworks had provided vital inputs on packaging and its roles but less efforts were done to understand the consumer behaviour during special occasion for this very important aspect of marketing mix. Organizations have been using packaging for various purposes. Packaging is used for protecting, communicating, safety purposes and presentation by the organizations. . It has been seen from previous studies that though the colour, typography, shapes and sizes and material of the packaging has been considered as important components, most of the studies conducted has been in the area of either packaging material or style in normal conditions. For special occasions organizations develop special strategies well in advance. For Christmas the preparations usually starts from the month of July August in order to meet the excess demand of the products. But in the case of other attributes or all the attributes of packaging during special occasion, hardly any work has done. Various components like colour and graphics have been important for the packaging during these occasions. This study will provide information which will help organizations in packaging during special occasions. There are various factors influencing consumer decision-making process i. e.socio-psychological. This is important for strategy makers and decision makers to have this vital information. The way this information is utilised within an organization is very important. The study is based on the Literature review. Secondary resources like websites of major retailers, journals, prestigious magazines and books and references regarding the study in business industry will be produced by various marketing forums, seminar and research papers, institutional publications and industry magazines. Primary data is important for this study. Fieldwork for the study had mainly involved structured questionnaires, concentrating on the consumers of retail organization Mark Spencer. The study tries to identify personal details like demographic details of the respondents, level of involvement with different packaging aspects during special occasion, experiences, knowledge and other factors where they have utilised some form of information in their decision making process in their buying behaviour. The issues to be asked by the questionnaires will fall into some major categories or topic areas of packaging and consumer behaviour. The data is analyzed with the help of simple data analysis tools MS Excel. Research methodology is an important aspect of any market research or survey. It describes the objectives, data collected, sampling, variables and other issues regarding research. Any research methodology defines the activity of research, the way it should be preceded, the way to measure its progress and the benchmarks or expected results of success. In this particular study the data has been collected with the help of a structured questionnaire. This questionnaire contained close-ended questions with the options available to the respondents. These questions were designed with the view that the respondent can respond to the questionnaire in shortest possible time. The language used is simple. The sentences are short and clear. Data has been collected by a survey conducted close to the Marks and Spencer retail organization, Birmingham. The respondents ranged from university students, working people, house wives and others representing both the genders and all the age groups mentioned in the questionnaire. The results have been divided into these same categories to ensure validity and reliability. General information in regard to identifiers was utilized in order to ensure that there would be no bias. This information provided the researcher with a more clarified view of perceptions in regard to the impact of packaging on special occasions. I. i. Hypothesis It is the intention of this work to discover the components which are very important for consumers during special occasions for gift giving or receiving. The questions to answer include several considerations. Those considerations include: the number of times the individual gives gift to others in a specific duration, what is the ethnic background of the consumer and whether it has any significance in the decision making of consumer for gift packaging; how various components of packaging are ranked by the customer, which are the most important components, whether or not gender plays any role in the gift giving and packaging decisions, views of the respondents as a gift receiver and sender about its packaging. In applying knowledge continuation of the research is managed by inquiring if respondents agree with various packaging components and their impacts on them. This series of questionnaires concerns different viewpoints to provide a more valid and expressive result. In so doing, inquiries were carried out by questionnaire for the respondents from various ethnic background, age group and gender. The qualitative research was conducted through an interview with the employee of Marks and Spencer about the special occasion and gift packaging. The interview was based on a structured questionnaire with set of questions. These questions are open ended and view points of the respondent has been noted cautiously I. ii. Research objectives The objective in this study is to understand the impact of social occasions on packaging. The study is balanced in its validity and reliability by results in questionnaires delivered to respondents and the employee of Marks and Spencer †¢ The objective is to discover whether the components of packaging have impact on the consumer decision making. †¢ The objective also includes understanding the relationship among the components of packaging, culture and demographic profile of the consumer. †¢ The other objective is to understand the level to which organization gets involve in packaging during the special occasions. To meet these objectives the primary research is designed based on structured questionnaire to collect data to understand the level of involvement in the decision making for the packaging and its aspects. I. iii. Primary research I. iii. a. Data collection. Primary data is collected with the help of structured questionnaire from the area surrounding colleges in and around the Birmingham. These data collected by various kind of respondents from different age group, sex and ethnic background of people doing shopping in Mark Spencer. Data was gained from a specific area for ease of accessibility and for targeted accuracy lending reliability and validity to the research process. Data is collected to understand the attitude and consumer behaviour of the components of packaging. Due to the fact that researcher is working with the organization it is easy to manage and collect data from this particular area and the focus was managed accordingly. The data for this work was managed through a single questionnaire handed out to respondents of different backgrounds in front of Mark Spencer, Birmingham researcher’s location. The researcher utilized gender identifiers and numbers or letters to separate each questionnaire for validity and reliability of results and to ensure bias reductions. The questionnaire is located in the Appendix section for understanding of the questions. The majority of questions in the questionnaire are closed ended questions. Each question in the demographic section had options available to the respondents and respondent has to tick on the most appropriate one. On the other hand the situation specific questions, there are statements given and the respondent has to tick the most appropriate term based on to what level he agrees to the statement or not. These questions are based on the Likert Scale concepts. The questionnaire is designed on the basis of the in puts of the literature review and previous studies conducted by various other researchers. One question is ranking question where respondent has to rank various components of the packaging on the basis of his preference. These provided the list of factors to be covered which helped researchers to narrow down the important factors which are important to fulfil the objectives of the study. The questionnaire has been distributed among the target respondents. The respondents had been explained the objectives for which the study was conducted and any other risk associated with the study. The confidentiality of identity was insured. Respondent had been ensured that this data will not be used in any other purpose than this particular study. The process to deliver and collect these questionnaires spanned approximately two weeks. I. iii. b. Variables The variables involved included age groups, gender and ethnic background. The next sets of variables were various components of packaging and consumer behaviour for the same. Limitations in these variables include the fact that marital status, family structure and economic status of the various respondents were not included in the research paradigm.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Gourmet foods company introduction of new drink

Gourmet foods company introduction of new drink Gourmet Foods Company is the strong retailer of Pakistan. Their product line is Retail, Bakers, Sweets, Beverages and Milk. To fulfil their aim to be the best company of the Pakistan they need professional marketing plan which will help the company to achieve its objectives more successfully and resourcefully, and getting a strong position in the market. When establishing a proficient marketing plan every phase of the marketing plan must be significantly examined and comprehensively researched. This consists of examining market research and check-up current situation. Once we have carefully evaluate the internal and external business environment and observe the business in broad the most appropriate marketing strategies will be selected and these strategies will be managed by effectively monitoring outside problem and opportunities and modifying internal competence procedures. The Challenge Introducing a new product in the market. The product will be low priced drink gourmet mix fruits providing the best quality with a satisfaction of customer. The product will be from major stock and it will be no doubt a customer-centred product. Gourmet introduces its new product gourmet mix fruits with 1 billion of marketing support. Situation analysis Company Analysis: Goals: The main goal of the company is to get the strong and secure position in the market. Focus: The focus of gourmet is introducing new products in the market as gourmet cola, gourmet lemon UP, Malta, soda ice cream, gourmet apple, and other products of bakers and sweets. Environment: The environment is neat and clean and well organised. However some people have some affair regarding their quality but it is generally accepted that their environment is healthy and their products no doubt are quality products. Strengths: Gourmet has a strong position in Pakistans market. And it has covered Lahores market as it has 90 outlets only in 1 city. Weakness: There are some health issues regarding Gourmets drinks like teeth problem, throat problems. Moreover lack of outlets in other cities of Pakistan. The Market Analysis Check up both the inside and outside business environment. It is very important that Gourmet carefully analyse both the internal and external aspects regarding its business as both the inside and outside environment and their individual effects will be important qualities in relation to Gourmets success and strength in the food industry. Internal Business Environment: The inside business environment and its impact is that which is within the control of business. The main part in the internal environment is effectiveness in the production, through management skills and effectual channels. To efficiently control and monitor the inside business environment, gourmet should have an eye on its operations and should take actions on factors which may affect it. External Business Environment: The outer business environment is also strong aspect that that can affect a whole business and, a whole market indeed, whatever it do not affect the company directly. There is no doubt that changes in the outside environment can possibly provide the chances or can create threats for Gourmet Foods and it should be well aware of it. A continuous change in the market, changes customer attitudes and values, and demographic example reliably impact the achievement of Gourmet foods production the market and the reaction they get from their consumers. Another aspect that has a great impact on its production is technological atmosphere so Gourmet should have met the latest technological standards. SWOT Analysis SWOT is an abbreviation of Strengths Weakness Opportunities and Threats. SWOT analysis is a organized and proper method much used in general management as well as marketing circumstances. SWOT analysis consists of exploratory the present activities of the company to evaluate its Strengths and find out its Weakness and then using this and external research data to put out the Opportunities and Threats that exist in the market. Strengths: Gourmet has been a main part of Pakistans market for a long time. The products position is loaded with sloppiness, and this is an position many people have taken it deeply as it has covered the market of Lahore which is considered a most prominent city of Pakistan due which its becoming familiar. It has almost 90 outlets in Lahore so people have to travel a little to get gourmet drinks. This familiar branding is one of gourmets best strengths. It is providing the best quality and enjoyment to their customers and its supply is continuously increasing day by day because of its wide variety of tastes. Furthermore, Gourmets bottling system is one of their extreme strengths. It allows them conduct business in all over the Pakistan; bottling companies are locally measured and controlled by independent business people who are allowed to sell products of the Gourmet food company. It is just because the Gourmet Company does not have absolute ownership of its bottling network. Weaknesses: It is generally accepted that the weaknesses for any organization require to be both minimised and scrutinized in order to successfully attain effectually and efficiency in their businesss performance, gourmet is no exemption. Although domestic business as well as many others markets of Pakistan are flourishing. Gourmet didnt open its outlets in others major cities like Gujarat, Jhelum, is just because they have low consumer power. Moreover major part of its customers are the universities and colleges which shows that the general public customers are less in number this is because other brands are also available with more market share and goodwill than gourmet. Additionally, Gourmet has an issue of having a teeth problem which cause health problems. It also has got sugar by which constant drinking of Gourmet may also cause health trouble. Being addicted to Gourmet is a health problem, because drinking of Gourmet daily has an effect on your body as well. Opportunities: Product identification is the considerable factor affecting Gourmets competitive position. Gourmets brand name is known well throughout Pakistan today. The most important concern is that above the past few years has been to get this name product to be even better standard. Packaging changes have also affected determinant of productivity. In other markets the product life series is in more of a progress trend Gourmets advantage in this area is mainly due to its business powerful branding and it is able to utilize this area of constant effectiveness to finance the domestic warfare. Threats: Currently, there are many threats the Gourmet foods is facing. One of the major threats is the threat of new businesses and companies in competition for which the management of gourmet is thinking more on securing their market position. In addition to it rivalry is among challenging firms in industry. Its direct competitors Marat Cola (in beverage) nestle have strong impact on its market share because these are also good reputed businesses. Another and very familiar threat which almost every business faces is the threat of substitute product. The units in which Gourmet deals are very common due which its almost every unit have its substitutes like Pepsi, Coca Cola, united king sweets etc are also dealing in the same products. The market share to the competition is low. Objectives and issues Gourmets objectives are: Its goal is to achieve 15% market share in one year Jan,2011 to Dec,2011 To achieve almost 30% returns in starting 1 or 2 months. Promoting the product and increasing the acknowledgement. Compete for the survival. Marketing Strategy Gourmet is going to compete in the market where it has many direct and indirect competitors who have large number of customers. Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy is strategy. Market segmentation Dividing the market into minor groups with separate needs, features, or actions who might want separate products or marketing mixes. The division is on the basis of geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural methods. Targeting market: The product we are going to offer is suitable for which market. After analysis Gourmet found that the city of Punjab (Gujarat) is the market where there are more chances of growth of gourmets new product. As the market is big and already have other brands but the opportunity is that the targeted customers are more interested in their local brands than international or other brands. As this is the targeted market so a major part of sales of gourmet mix fruits will be distributed to this market which will be approximately 60% and other 40% of sales will be distributed in other cities of Pakistan. The price would be reasonable as compare to its competitors and easily affordable. There is no authorized outlet of Gourmet in Gujarat so this product will be easily available at almost every retailing shop. Positioning When the process of market segmentation is done and it is decided which segment of the market Gourmet will compete in developed a clear picture of its targeted segment and defined its product, Gourmet will be able to develop the positioning strategy. Gourmet would arrange a perfect, unique, and desirable place relative to challenging product in the minds of directed consumers. Company will differentiate its product (Gourmet mix fruits) by adding some distinct features like a divers and quality taste in the same price range. The company will get the competitive advantage. Marketing Mix After deciding on its overall strategy Gourmet is ready to create planning the elements of marketing mix, one of the major concepts in modern marketing. The marketing mix is established for manageable, strategical tools that a firm mergers to create response it wants in the target market. The marketing mix consists of everything that a firm can do to influence the demand of its products. The tools are divided into 4 broad categories which are: Product Price Place promotion Product: Gourmet Foods is introducing a new product in the market which is a soft drink of mix fruits. It will be a different flavour than other soft drinks available in the market. The soft drink is going to launch with the brand name gourmet mix fruits. The packaging would same as before it has launched its existing carbonated drinks because it protects the product during shipping, and when it assemble in the shelf and when the customer is using it, it endorse the product and differentiate it from its substitute products offered by other companies. It also allows the business to plan promotional method, which can produce additional returns and advertisements. The drink would have a wide range from 240ml, 1 litter, 1.5 litters and 2 litters, it will also available in 5 litter family pack. No doubt the drink would have the best quality with lovely, nice and satisfying taste. After sales services would b given if there is any kind of problem regarding its quality like unpleasant taste or smell than it will be taken back and consumer ought to have his full payment back. However their will be a warranty 3 months within which the product should be used. Price: Marketing penetration means to sets a low primary price in order to breach the market quickly and deeply to attract a large number of consumers rapidly to increase market share Price sensitive market Inverse relationship of production and distribution cost to sales growth Low prices must keep competition out of the market Pricing strategies are vital to Gourmet because the price decides the total of sales and earnings per unit sold. Businesses should have to set a price that is more attractive and smart to their patrons and offer the business with an excellent level of profit. The product will be sold on ideal selling price which will be easily affordable. The cost of the product offered will depend on cost of production, cost of distribution and plus a fair rate of return. There will be no discount. Evaluating the cost Quantity Fixed cost (PKR) Variable cost (PKR) Total cost 240ml 8 7 15rs 1 litters 8 27 35rs 1.5 litters 8 37 45rs 2 litters 10 50 60rs 5 litters 20 85 110rs Place: The product would be distributed in the targeted market Gujarat, as it is manufacturing in Lahore so there would be a need of transportation and other market intermediaries like resellers and marketing services agencies. A van will be allocated distributing the stock to the targeted market well in time to save the customers from any inconvenience. Wholesalers will further distribute it to the resellers and finally the consumer will buy it. Company will hire the physical distribution firms that will also help it to move their stock from their point of origin to their final destination. The orders would be taken on internet or by the financial intermediaries like banks, credit companies, insurance companies, and other related units that help finance transactions or insure against the threats linked with buying and selling of product. Promotion: It includes all the means and ways through which a product can be promoted. One of the strongest way of promoting its product is products advertising. There are market intermediary that are the research firms, advertising companies, media firms, and market accessing firms that help the company goal and its products promotion to the target market. The ads will be given on famous Pakistani TV channels like Ptv, Ptv 2. It will also be advertised on news channels because this media have become so familiar and broad which will help the business in their product promotion. Moreover Gourmet also use another channel of advertising which is print media however it is not well developed but still is a useful mean of communication and selling activities. Conclusion: In the nutshell I would like to state that the Gourmet foods is flourishing company of Pakistan which deals in Retail, Bakers, Sweets, Beverages and Milk. No doubt that the company have secured good position in the market of Punjab (province of Pakistan). Gourmet is going well and as their focus is on introducing new and new products in the market, so the management of Gourmet decided to introduce a new product of beverages Gourmet mix fruits in the market giving a quality taste of different fruits in signal bottle. The targeted segment is another city of Punjab province named Gujarat which seems most suitable market for this act. The segmentation is on the basis of geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural approaches. Hopefully it will be appreciated in all age levels and mainly in youngster. The design of the bottle is same as it already have for their beverage products. Gourmet is going to launch this product with the investment of 5 million of market support which includes all the aspects regarding the production, packaging and promotion of the product.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Two Kinds of Love in Movie Casablanca Essay -- Love Casablanca Movie F

Two Kinds of Love in Movie Casablanca In the movie Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz, two different kinds of love are exposed. The love relationship between Ilsa Lund and Rick is a more passionate relationship while the one between Ilsa and Victor Laszlo is more intimate. Love is composed of different feelings and because of that it can be expressed, as seen in Casablanca, in different ways. â€Å"The Intimate Relationship Mind†, a text by Garth J. O. Fletcher and Megan Stenswick, helps support that claim providing a scientific background on how love is shaped by those different feelings. It says that â€Å"love is composed of three distinct and basic components that each represent evolved adaptations; namely, intimacy, commitment, and passion† (Fletcher and Stenswick 73). Those three components help shape different kinds of love. The first love relationship that is portrayed in Casablanca is the one between Ilsa and Rick. It is explicit that the relationship is a passionate one and that what they had was more of a fling, an affair, than a relationship that would last forever. That can be noticed by the lyrics of the song â€Å"As Time Goes By†, which is the theme song for their love: You must remember this, A kiss is just a kiss, A sigh is just a sigh, The fundamental things apply, As time goes by. The lyrics basically mean that their love will not last long. That they may kiss and sigh as time goes by but one day it will be over and become a memory. There certainly is passion in Rick and Ilda’s relationship but it lacks the two other components stated by Fletcher and Stenswick: intimacy and commitment. That is shown when Rick has his flashback from Paris. Rick ask... ... That is how Ilsa and Laszlo’s relationship was shaped, with higher levels of intimacy and commitment, and lower levels of passion. It is a relationship that would typically last. Casablanca does an excellent job in portraying two different kinds of love: a passionate love and an intimate and committing love. Passionate love is unavoidable and a part of life but people need to accept that a love based solely on passion does not last. An intimate and committing love is what will persevere and is what they need to hold on to. In the final scene Rick and Ilsa accept that their moment is gone, that they will be separate for life but â€Å"will always have Paris†. She then moves on to continue her relationship with Laszlo. That is the main message in Casablanca: that you need to accept that passionate love doesn’t last and embrace intimate and committing love.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Howard Kang

In dramatic form, be it monologue, dialogue or full theatrical scene, the author cannot step into the action to comment or interpret for us, as he can in a novel. We must draw our own conclusions from what we see and hear, and this makes for powerful effects, as a character reveals him- or herself to us by what he or she says or does. In the monologue, â€Å"My Last Duchess† Browning misleads us with great skill before we realize that we are listening to a criminal lunatic. The dramatic effect lies in the surprise we feel as the truth finally emerges. In Act IV, scene iii of Othello there is again an agonizing irony for the viewer, who knows more than Desdemona and is of course impotent to help her. Shakespeare works like a dentist without an anesthetic, and the pain of the audience comes from the unbearable innocence of the doomed Desdemona, who is surely something like the Duchess in Browning’s poem, helpless and bewildered in the face of the murderous insanity of her husband. The Duke in Browning’s â€Å"My Last Duchess† sounds so sane! But what makes him more eerie is that he is wonderfully gracious and articulate – â€Å"Will’t please you sit and look at her? † (5). As he tells his story he seems to weigh his words with great caution, as if he is quite free of the distorting power of anger or any other passion, and is keen to avoid any unfairness in his judgment: â€Å"She had / A heart – how shall I say? – too soon made glad† (21-2), â€Å"†¦ but thanked / Somehow – I know not how – as if she ranked†¦ † (31-2). He never raises his voice, and speaks with a measured confidence that quite takes us in. At first we might be tempted to believe that his attitudes are reasonable: â€Å"Sir, ‘twas not / her husband’s presence only, called that spot / Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek† (13-15). His manner is restrained even as he hints at her infidelity. The painter flattered her about her appearance, as of course he would, being a Renaissance artist and totally dependent on patronage, but she was charmed by it – foolishly, the Duke suggests. â€Å"She liked whate’er / She looked on† (23-24). She was delighted by the beauty of the sunset, and the little tribute from the man who gave her the cherries, just as much as â€Å"My favor at her breast† (25). What he seems to be objecting to is her failure to be properly selective and aristocratic in her tastes. This is a rather extreme sort of snobbery, but perhaps not unprecedented; we may not find it attractive, but we may accept it as a feature of a proud man. In Browning’s My Last Duchess, the murder is implied. It is not described in explicit terms as in Othello. In the lines, â€Å"Paint/Must never hope to reproduce the faint /Half-flush that dies along her throat†, the speaker adores the ‘faint half-flush’ on his wife’s face that no paint could re-add and at the same time leaves a slight hint that she had been throttled to death. The intelligent monologue is enough to make the point overt and covert at the same time. All the time, Browning is luring us up the garden path. We begin to detect the problem. The Duke is immensely proud, a man of great heritage, while she is free of snobbery, charmed by the delights of the world and human kindness, and genuinely innocent. (Infidelity does not seem to be the Duke’s concern presently) Then we begin to see how pathologically proud and arrogant he really is. Even had you skill / In speech – (which I have not)† (35-36), (he lies, of course) to explain your objection to her behavior – which is clearly quite â€Å"normal† – it would involve â€Å"stooping, and I choose / Never to stoop† (42-3). So, rather than speak to her about his dissatisfaction, which would involve impossible condescension by him, he chose to solve the problem rather more radically: â€Å"This grew; I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped altogetherà ¢â‚¬  (45-6). It takes a moment for us to register what he did, so unbelievable is it and so evasively phrased. She thanked men,—good; but thanked /Somehow†¦. I know not how †¦. as if she ranked /My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name /With anybody’s gift,†- the last part of the speech clearly brings forth the envy rankling in the speaker’s heart! The unbending pride of the Duke comes out through the turns of phrases of this part of this long monologue, â€Å"†¦. and if she let/Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set/Her wits to yours ,forsooth and made excuse,/-E’en then would be some stooping and I choose/Never to stoop. The Duke can hardly ‘chose to stoop’to give in to the childish demeanors of his beautiful wife. Again, jealousy seems to be prevalent in the tone of these words: â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Oh, Sir, she smiled no doubt, /Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without /much the same smile? † Then having confessed to murder, or, rather, boasted of it, he continues his negotiations for his next Duch ess, celebrating, incidentally, one of his favorite art works, â€Å"Neptune†¦ Taming a sea-horse† (54-5), the very image of the brutal control that he has himself exerted over his innocent last Duchess. The willow scene from Othello works differently, of course, because it is a dialogue, though it is in the inner workings of Desdemona’s mind that the dramatic form is revealed here, just as much as is the case in Browning’s poem There is an almost intolerable pathos about this scene because Desdemona is so helpless. She has a good idea of what is going to happen – â€Å"If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me / In one of those same sheets† (24-5) and is impotent in the face of her fate. There seems to be no defence against the ruthless execution of Othello’s enraged will. She is in a sort of trance; a hypnosis of shock. All she can do is wait for the end, and the pathetic simplicity of her reflections here is the sign of a wounded spirit in retreat from reality. The tragic atmosphere is given additional poignancy by the occasional interruption of the everyday details of â€Å"undressing for bed†, the habitual continuing of everyday life because there is nothing else to do in the face of the worst – â€Å"Prithee unpin me† (21). She continues to pretend that this is just an ordinary night: â€Å"This Lodovico is a proper man† (35), not a comparison of Othello with her country forms, but a pathetic attempt at gossip. But her real thoughts emerge in the obsession with the willow song, which she cannot resist. It is the perfect mirror of her own fortune: â€Å"And she died singing it; that song tonight / Will not go from my mind† (30-1). Like a detail from a psychoanalyst’s casebook comes the unprompted line in the song that gives away the deepest thoughts of the wailing victim. Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve, — Nay, that’s not next. Hark! Who’s that knocks? –It is the wind. † (51-3) She corrects herself, but the absolute terror of realisation goes through her. Compared with Desdemona’s helplessness in the face of the corruption of Othello, Emilia’s jokes have an immensely remedial health. It is not a criticism of Desdemona, but it is a firm placing of trust in a human being by Shakespeare. In Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moor can hardly be blamed for his rash decision of murdering Desdemona, who had been black-painted by his ‘honest Iago’ and it was Iago again who had sown the seeds of jealousy in his mind. Desdemona pleaded her innocence at last and asked to call for Cassius but Othello ran berserk maddened by sexual jealousy. Othello could hardly be blamed for his attitude, as he was a Moor and unfamiliar with the ways and manners of the Venetian culture. Naturally, he fell victim to Iago’s insinuations and committed the murder of his beautiful wife, Desdemona, who was actually, innocence epitomized. In Act IV, sc ii, Othello in reply to Desdemona’s pleading innocence disgustingly cried out, â€Å"O Desdemona, away! away! away! † Desdemona, being totally unaware of the handkerchief she had lost tried to reason with her husband, â€Å"Am I the motive of these tears my Lord? † It might have been possible that Othello could have turned deaf ears to Iago’s vitriolic comments or aspersions cast on Desdemona, but as he was new to their society and culture, it became easy for Iago to set him against his wife, who was a paragon of beauty. By way of rejoinder, when Othello speaks out, â€Å"Had it pleased Heaven/To try me with affliction; had they rained/All kinds of sores and shame on my bare head/Steeped me in poverty to the very lips/Given to captivity me and my utmost hopes/I should have found in some place of my soul/A drop of patience†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †and at last turns to the question of â€Å"complexion†, â€Å"Turn thy complexion thee.. †¦Ay there look as grim as hell! †, we find Othello a dejected, frustrated , lost soul feeling small for being a Black Moor who was alien to the Venetian culture! The complex of Culture and Identity assails him, no doubt! Othello decided to put an end to the life of his unfaithful wife at last and as he uttered the words in Act V, Sc ii, â€Å"Yet, I’ll not shed her blood; /Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow/And smooth as monumental alabaster/Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men†, Did he not sound the same as the Duke of My Last Duchess who had been driven mad by sexual jealousy? The murder could not be justified, but, Othello was quite a better lover and a more compassionate person than the Duke. He needed evidence to prove Desdemona’s betrayal; he had to fight immensely with his own conscience to come to the decision of murder. As a person, the Duke was cold-blooded, but Othello was emotional and irrational at he same time. If this had not been so, â€Å"†¦I will kill thee, / And love thee after. One more and this the last. /So sweet was ne’er so fatal. I must weep/ But they are cruel tears; this sorrow’s heavenly; /IT STRIKES WHERE IT DOTH LOVE,† could he utter such words? The Duke of My Last Duchess was never so overpowered with emotions to give a slight indication of goodness that is if he had any. In Act V, sc i, Othello is making his mind up to vent his rage upon Desdemona. Here he again finds enough reason to slaughter Desdemona. On hearing the footsteps of Cassius, he blurt forth, â€Å"’Tis he;-O brave Iago, honest and just†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦minion your dear lies dead/and your unblest fate hies, strumpet I come† Till Lines 31 of Act V Sc ii, we find Othello raving and railing on about the murder of Desdemona. Othello seemed to give a chance to Desdemona to prove her innocence by saying, â€Å"If you bethink yourself of any crime/Unreconciled as yet heaven and grace /Solicit for it straight. † But he meant the murder and perpetrated it! In Act III, Sc iii, when Othello grows in a blind rage is provoked by â€Å"honest Iago’s† words, he finds every reason to kill Unfaithful Desdemona and utters, â€Å"Monstrous, monstrous!! † On hearing Cassio’s dream-mutterings on his secret affair with Desdemona, Othello got green with jealousy and anger. He saw betrayal from the cruelest possible angle. He found it terribly monstrous to be treated like that. When Emilia came talking of Desdemona’s profound love for her husband after she had been murdered, Othello lost his emotional balance and blurted, â€Å"O cursed slave! /Whip me ye devils/From the possession of this heavenly sight/Blow me about in the winds, roast me in sulphur/Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire†¦O Desdemona, Desdemona, DEAD!! †[Act V, Scii] Could we ever expect the Duke speaking in such touchy, sentimental terms after committing the murder? No, never!!!

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Drama Assignment

LHE 3253 TEACHING THE LANGUAGE OF DRAMA Assignment 1 Dorothy Ting Siao Wei 153071 Dr. Habsah Bt Hussin Submission date: 19 Oct 2011 THE JEWELS OF THE SHRINE 1. One of the themes of this play is  false relationship  among family members. Quote the part(s) in the play where you can discern this theme. Throughout the play the theme false relationship among family members is seen. Firstly, it is seen in the character of Bassi. Bassi is not related to Okorie at all but is seen to be always around the house attending to Okorie. It is as if she is his wife when she is not at all. She is actually married elsewhere and have kids. This is seen in several parts where she appears. â€Å" Bassi: It is enough, Grandfather. Long talk make you tired. Come, your food is now ready. Okorie: Woman, I cannot eat. When happiness fills your heart, you cannot eat. † From here we see how Bassi would advice Okorie to stop talking and eat his meal. Her tone sounds like a wife who cares for a husband rather than a married woman of a neighbor. â€Å"Bassi (holding him and leading him to sit on the bed): You are excited. You know that whenever you are excited, you begin to forget things. Okorie: That is not my fault. It is old age. Well, but what was I saying? † Here we even see Bassi sending Okorie to bed which could be hardly seen in olden times. Bassi is a married woman with her own husband which she should be putting to bed with rather than a senile old man. But she did and she did in gently like how a wife would. Perhaps there is a sincerity of the treatment she gave but there’s no legit relationship that they have. The other place in the play where false relationship among family members is seen is when Arob and Ojuma started treating Okorie nicely just because they heard something like a great inheritance that they will get if they treat him nicely and bury him with great honour. All of these can be seen in the following excerpts of the play. â€Å"Ojima: At last, poor Grandfather is gone. I wonder if he know that we only played up just to get something from his will. Arob: Well, it didn’t matter to him. He believed us, and that is why he has left his property to us. A few months ago he would rather have thrown it all into the sea. † 2. From the language used by Okorie, Arob and Ojuma in their dialogue, what can you discern about their relationship? Give two factors contributing to the disintegration of family units and children neglecting their filial duties toward their elders. From the language used by Okorie, Arob and Ojuma in their dialogue, it seemed like their relationship is not a good one. Okorie doesn’t even call or refer to his grandsons as his grandsons but people and Arob and Ojuma didn’t speak properly or with respect all the time. In my opinion, one of the factors contributing to the disintegration of family units and children neglecting their filial duties toward their elders is, the lack of proper discipline in the family. As seen in the play, Arob and Ojuma’s father passed away earlier than their grandfather, Okorie. No one disciplined them or brought them up in the proper manner. Okorie might have even spoilt them when they were younger so there was no sense of fear and respect from both of them towards their grandfather. They cannot even see the contribution of their grandfather and appreciate him. They even took everything that is his and sold them to get whatever finances that they could get. They never had anyone to discipline them. The other factor that contributes to their misbehavior is a growing sense of selfishness that comes with the welcoming of modernity. As seen and discussed by Okorie and the stranger at the beginning of the play, it seemed like the society has been getting more and more selfish and cruel that they don’t take care of older people but mistreat them too. With the coming of new technologies, new development that first enters the city, more selfishness prevails and the people are getting crueler. They only think about their own welfare, their own happiness and they just disregard for any other people, even the older people in their own family who are flesh and blood. It seemed like all that does not matter at all anymore. Everything is about their own pleasure and comfort and no one else. MOTHER’S DAY 3. Mrs. Pearson’s difficulty in speaking her mind and communicating the truth with her family had caused her much unhappiness. Quote the part(s) in the Play where you can discern this quality in Mrs. Pearson. There are several parts in the play where Mrs. Pearson depicts her difficulty in speaking her mind and conveying the truth with her family. Firstly is when Mrs. Fitzgerald came to visit her at her house and they were talking casually when the subject of her unhappiness in her home came up. When Mrs. Fitzgerald advised her to be firm and do something about it she became apologetic saying, â€Å"That’s easier said than done. Besides, I’m so fond of them even if they are so thoughtless and selfish. They don’t mean to be†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It shows that she does love her family although they are thoughtless and selfish but she gave them too much leeway that they mistreated her by not thinking about her but only themselves. She finds it hard to speak her mind also because she doesn’t like confrontations and she is mighty afraid to make others feel unpleasant. She doesn’t know how to tell them how she felt. She only drops hints to them. This is seen later when she said, â€Å"I – keep dropping a hint†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦ But I do hate any unpleasantness. And it’s so hard to know where to start. I keep making up my mind to have it out with them – but somehow I don’t know how to begin. † It is also pretty obvious from the way she kept having pauses in her speaking and getting embarrassed and sending a sense of hopelessness that she has very low confidence which, I believe contributed in her difficulty in communicating the truth with her family. Even when she talks to Mrs. Fitzgerald, she has lots of pauses as seen, â€Å"Mrs. Fitzgerald – I know you mean well – in fact, I agree with you – but I can’t – and it’s no use you trying to make me. If I promise you I’d really have it out with them, I know I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise. 4. Discuss effective communication skills that Mrs. Pearson should inculcate in herself to make her family be respectful of her and appreciate her more. Mrs. Pearson needs to learn to speak more confidently and perhaps, be more confident about herself. If she kept bein g not confident about herself, she will not get anywhere. Her lack of confidence shows in her communication and her family, who seemed to consist of stronger personalities will take advantage of her lack of confidence and mistreat her. Mrs. Pearson needs to know her role in the family is a mother and a wife and not a servant and she eeds to realize that she needs to stand firm and strong in her role in the family as a mother and a wife by speaking more with confidence and a sense of authority and eliminate her habit of always being apologetic and trying to explain. This will help her family recognize her as she executes orderliness in her family, establishing boundaries and a sense of respect within her family. Through that, her family will respect her and she will be able to teach and perhaps train them to have proper manners and a sense of respect for people especially towards her. If she is able to establish that, her family will not step all over her and know that she is serious and not one to simply mess with. Mrs. Pearson needs to also speak clearly and directly to her family, to convey her true wishes to them so that they will know what she wants, how she feels and what she wants them to do and they will be able to understand her better and treat her well. She cannot just throw hints at them because in general, a lot of people cannot pick up hints. Only those who are sensitive and does pay attention to little details will pick up hints but these kind of people are rare unless the hints are too obvious to ignore. Mrs. Pearson also needs to eliminate her fear of confrontation and fear of unpleasant atmospheres because confrontations are necessary to convey clear messages and not at all evil. Unpleasant atmospheres cannot be avoided totally also in all relationships as each human are unique, complete with strengths and weaknesses so certain unpleasantness will come naturally once in a while and it is not necessarily bad, just depending on how one deals with it and also the cause of it. A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL 5. In this Play, conflict in the form of argument prevents Lomov from asking Natalia to marry him. Extract sample dialogues from the Play to indicate where the conflicts are. There are two conflicts that happened in the play. Firstly, Lomov got into an argument with Natalia about who owns the meadows when he was trying to propose to her. The argument went as followed: â€Å"LOMOV: †¦ and my property, as you know, adjoins your own. If you will be so good as to remember, my meadows touch your birchwoods. NATALIA: Pardon the interruption. You said â€Å"my meadows† – but are they yours? LOMOV: Yes, they belong to me. NATALIA: What nonsense! The meadows belong to us – not you! LOMOV: No, to me! Now, my dear Natalia Stepanovna! NATALIA: Well, this is certainly news to me. How do they belong to you? LOMOV: How? I am speaking of the meadows lying between your birchwoods and my brick earth. NATALIA: Yes, exactly. They belong to us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lomov and Natalia continued arguing and then a series of things happened and he got chased out of the house and asked to come back again to get engaged to Natalia. Then the second conflict happened when they started talking about hunting and they argued about whose dog is a better dog, Otkatai or Ugadi. The argument went as followed: â€Å"LOMOV: †¦Really? Otkatai is better than Ugadi? What an idea! Otkatai better than Ugadi! NATALIA: Of course he is better. It is true Otkatai is still young; he isn’t full-grown yet, but in the pack or on the leash with two or three, there is no better than he, even- LOMOV: I really beg you rpardon, Natalia Stepanovna, but you quite overlooked the fact that he has a short lower jaw, and a dog with a short lower jaw can’t snap. NATALIA: Short lower jaw? That’s the first time I ever heard that! LOMOV: I assure you, his lower jaw is shorter than the upper. NATALIA: Have you measured it? LOMOV: I have measured it. He is good at running though†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Their argument, yet again, went on for a while and Tschubukov came in and forced them to quickly get engaged. Right after they are engaged, they continued with their arguing. 6. If Natalia and Lomov get married, what should they do to minimize conflicts in their marriage? If Natalia and Lomov get married, they should learn the art of communication. Lomov’s speech seemed too elaborated and containing too much details which are so unnecessary and long. If he learns to communicate clearly and directly while also respecting the other, it would have lessened so much miscommunication. Natalia should also learn to be less sensitive over petty issues. Perhaps the issue of who the meadow belongs to is important for her but she could have expressed her disagreement in a gentler manner without flying off the handle and her opinions could have been easier to be taken in. Both of them should learn how to manage their anger and know ow to discuss issues or difference of opinions in a more civilized manner rather than getting heated up so fast and raising their voice at each other. They need to look at the other’s perspective and try to be more understanding. They could have responded in a more neutral manner and there would not have much conflict. They should also learn to be more selfless and put each other higher than themsel ves. From the way they have argued, they seemed rather selfish, insisting that they themselves are right instead of tolerating each other and they also go to the point of degrading the other’s opinions. They need to learn not to cross the boundary, to respect each other’s opinions and not to put down each other. They also need to work out their differences and look for each other’s similarities. Natalie really wanted to marry Lomov so obviously there is something that she likes about him and the fact that Lomov went to propose to Natalia also indicates that there is attraction. They need to focus on the good points, especially the things they love about each other and always be reminded of that and not let petty arguments get in the way.