100% Secure Payment
© 2025 Copyright:
BoutEssays. All rights reserved
Conion rice cooker is a newly launched rice cooker brand which is introduced in the market in 9th August 2017. This rice cooker is made in China. Best Electronics Limited is the distributor of these rice cookers. This particular model of rice cooker (Conion BE 183A2BS) has a price of BDT 2,104 but in Best Electronics you can buy it at BDT 954 (discounted price) promotional price.
Get original essayThe capacity of the Conion BE 183A2BS rice cooker is 1.8 Liters, and a power of 700 watt is being consumed by this rice cooker. This particular model of rice cooker has a very attractive Silvery-metal colored body with designs engraved on it. Its feature also includes Automatic Temperature Control System, Non-Stick Coating Inner Pot and Sealed Pressure Structure. Best Electronics is providing 1 year replacement warranty and 6 months of service warranty.
At Conion, we believe that delight lies in upgrading your home beyond one’s imagination. We use the latest R&D techniques to ensure advanced and intuitive technology in our products that complement your changing lifestyle needs. With unparalleled exclusive advancements like AQT A+ Technology, EyeCare, Magic Air Technology, 3D Aqua Wash, Dyna+Fresh Technology, Ultra High Speed (UHS) Technology, Conion is strongly dedicated towards continuously developing innovative technologies to provide you the best and modern solution for your home appliances and electrical needs.
Welcome to our world of continuous improvement.
Our Mission is to produce the best quality products and supply them in best price to the market.
Our Vision is to be the leading home appliance distributor brand of Bangladesh.
Our Goal is to serve to each and every category people of Bangladesh through our products at least price. We are here to make people’s daily life simpler and easier.
A target market simply defines the consumers or groups most likely to purchase a particular product or service. Various consumer characteristics are used to define a target market, including demographics and psychographics, type and frequency of use, product benefits and geographic location.
So for this particular product we have decided to target three customer bases after some extensive market research.
Gender
Age Relationship Status
Female
26 to 40 Married
Female
19 to 25 Single
Male 20 to 26 Single
Product Review
In electronic commerce, product reviews are used on shopping sites to give customers an opportunity to rate and comment on products they have purchased, right on the product page. Other consumers can read these when making a purchase decision.
Here we will highlight the usage review of our particular product: Conion Rice Cooker BE 183A2BS.This rice cooker is way cheaper than other competitive products in the market but it does a really great job in terms of cooking some items like, rice, khichdi, meat items, etc.
It has the feature of turning off automatically after a certain time when the food is cooked. And all these things you are getting in a budget price.
For the ease of taking the buying decision, customers can also visit their website to see the
Review of the customers. Some of them are given below.
When it comes to a competition, Vision from Pran RFL launched another product with the same specification. Although both Conion and Vision’s Rice cooker does not vary a lot in terms of quality but the in term of price Conion rice cooker are cheaper. Although Conion is giving the same features but they are doing it at a much affordable price and with a one year warranty.
Strength
Weakness
Opportunities
Threats
Objectives
Issue
Not only Conion tends to keep their price low but they also focuses on keeping their product quality high and thus it makes them the perfect contender in this market. They use Aluminum for their inner-bowl which is cheaper than stainless steel and also is a very good thermal conductor. They use a good quality plastic material instead of metal for the cooker’s body which makes them light-weighted and inexpensive yet durable for long use. BE 183A2BS has a thin stainless steel outer, wrapping its plastic body, with beautiful designs engraved in it which makes it more attractive. In short Conion is providing a long-lasting product with at a very affordable price.
Conion provides a high-quality specialty advertising product customized to its clients’ needs. The value of this product and service is reflected in its premium price. Conion should be sensitive to the price elasticity of its product and overall consumer demand.
Conion uses indirect marketing to distribute their product. Since its product is compact, lightweight, and nonperishable it can ship to multiple country with proper packing. Best Electronics is the direct distributor or retailer of Conion rice cookers. Best electronics is offering very flexible ways to buy their product, i.e., either you can use their online store or you can go to their showroom which is situated in most part of the city.
To discover the potential consumers, promotion should be used to build the product awareness to customers to gain brand reputation, the simplest way is advertising. Advertising is a quick and intensive way to appeal to customers. As Rice cooker is necessary for life, the advertising could show a family sitting together and sharing the rice during dinner; it could display the warm relationship and expose a positive attitude. And Best Electronics is taking those measurable steps to make sure Conion BE 183A2BS is well known to the market by launching promotional campaigns. Not only are they launching promotional campaigns but they also have a discount going on, which makes this Conion rice cooker by far the lowest priced rice cooker in the market right now. Despite the fact Best Electronics has many stores all over Bangladesh, they also have online site, so that customers can buy the product directly from them.
ATL – Above the Line Marketing
This is mass media promotion which is not targeted a particular audience but to reach all category. Such as a TVC which is broadcasted in Television to reach the maximum audience.
Also, billboards, radio, posters there are all example of ATL marketing.
BTL – Below the line Marketing
This is a strategy of one to one or personal communication. It can a booth in front of a company or school where we can find our target customers. It is highly depend on extensive target marketing. Also, organizing an event to promote and communicate with the target customers to promote the product is an example of BTL Marketing.
TTL – Through the line Marketing
This strategy integrate BTL and ALT marketing. Also, known as social media promotion. This revolutionary change has arrived in recent years when internet got our daily need. This strategy is more like content marketing where a graphic content is made to promote through social media to communicate with the target audience.
Keep in mind:
This is only a sample.
Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.
Get custom essayRice cooker are consumer product, which can be used for long time, so after a period of increase in product demand, it will surely experience a declining. So in this situation, manager should change the strategy to attract new users to the demands of older users for replacing new rice cooker. As for technology, it could turn threats to opportunities; Conion should keep the update of the product, when the demand for product starts to fall. Besides, excellent customer service is the best way to remain the existing customers and appeal potential customers. Therefore, to continuously achieve success and remain it should focus on the aspects mentioned above.
There is an intense competition that business in Sports industry is facing. The companies and marketers nowadays have to be stylish and functional at the same time to survive in the competition. Within the sports industry, Adidas and Nike are two prominent names across the world countries. Adidas and Nike are the most significant brand names in the minds of customers.
Get original essayNike brand notifies to “just do it”, while Adidas tells you “impossible is nothing”. One caters for swoosh addicts, while the other caters to stripe enthusiasts.
Nike’s product majorly inclines towards industries of Children and Women shoes, Running, Cross-training and Basketball. On the other hand, Adidas primarily deals in Athletics, Tennis, and Soccer.
Comparison of Strategies
Adidas and Nike operate and use same platform for marketing strategies with different approaches of implementation. Both organizations focus greatly on technology, as well as make efforts to innovate and produce new products.
Nike concentrates on the market of United States, while on the other hand, Adidas focuses on the market of Europe.
When it comes to production, Nike does not own production plants as they merely advertises, distributes and designs their goods but outsources from severe Asian countries, such as Korea and Taiwan that outsources their production plants in Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. On the other hand, Adidas has production plant in Germany where they adopted the outsourcing approach of Nike by outsourcing to countries in Asia.
Adidas and Nike follow a strategy of premium pricing that refers to an approach where businesses charge higher price for their goods. Nike and Adidas faced an intense competition.
For example, during the World Cup 2010:
Key Differences in Marketing Strategies
Moreover, like most global brands Nike also has separate Facebook pages for each of its product in categories manner. Most of the dedicated sports pages are updated on a daily basis with videos or images, while the corporate page is updated almost once a week. On the other hand, Adidas is all about creating hype on social media- Adidas Originals now has more followers on Twitter than the main Adidas account which is now cementing its position as a truly cult lifestyle brand.
Nike has global football page featuring Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta, as well as a lot of product-related posts. Since the brand famously snatched Kanye West from Nike in 2014, it has carefully crafted a series of product launches, cleverly building on the rapper’s wider fan base.
Not only does Nike do a decent job of marketing itself using the four main social networks, but it has also taken the time to establish its own unique social platform through Nike+.
Thus, Adidas and Nike have different marketing strategies in how both companies interactive with consumers online. The above discussion made it apparent that a strategy of Nike revolves around creating a unique and distinct identity for each sport is effective and smart. However, both Adidas and Nike have a significant digital presence and impressive viral marketing strategies.
In this report, I will identify the current marketing strategies of Starbucks in the UK market and how to improve this performance by introducing new strategic approaches. I will start by analyzing the coffee industry with its consumers and competitors in the UK. After that, I will assess the internal strategic capability of the coffee company. This will lead me to the recommendation of opportunities from which Starbucks can potentially benefit to improve its current marketing strategy.
Get original essay“The UK is the most developed market [in Europe] and remains the model for the branded coffee shop industry” according to Allegra Strategies (Sousa, 2017). In fact, the United Kingdom has the biggest annual growth in coffeehouse chains in Europe since 2015. 643 stores have seen the lights in 2017 to attain the total of 7421 outlets in the kingdom.
The average annual growth of the industry from 2013 to 2018 is 5.7% with total revenues of £6.2 billion in 2017 (Clients1.ibisworld.co.uk, 2017). The chart below represents the four phases of the industry’s life cycle which are introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The introduction stage is when the sales are still slowly growing. The growth phase, where the UK coffee industry currently is, is when the sales are rapidly growing. After the maturity phase, the number of sales starts to fall down, but there is currently no sign of stagnation.
We determined the different categories of Starbucks’ customers by their behavior and by in what situation do you frequently go to the coffee house. The most common answers are “on the go” and for “socializing” with respectively 37% and 32%. While fewer people buy coffee when it is “part of work routine”, for “meetings”, to “pass time” or to have “me time” (Bacon, 2013).
The coffee UK market is very competitive and the barriers to entry for new competitors are very low. It has already been 20 years since Starbucks has opened its first store in the UK now (News.bbc.co.uk, 1998) The main competitors of Starbucks in the UK market are Costa Coffee, Pret A Manger, Caffè Nero, AMT Coffee and Harris + Hoole with 17.3%, 10.3%, 4.8%, 0.3% and 0.3% respectively. Starbucks is the third largest coffee chain in the UK with 5.8% of the market shares. However, the other part of the market shares which is the biggest one (61.2%) belongs to independent coffee shops and other smaller coffee chains (Clients1.ibisworld.co.uk, 2017). The main coffee chains are perceived as following based on the two dimensions of the price and the quality experience. It is clear that Starbucks is seen as the best in quality for the higher price.
On the other hand, Pret A Manger is perceived as a coffee shop that has the same high price for the lower quality experience. Also, the leader of the UK market is in the middle with a faintly lower price and a quality experience slighter higher than Pret A Manger and lower than Starbucks.
A strong brand name gives more value to the company and to the brand perception in the mind of the customers. Supply contracts in place for key inputs: Companies need to have good relationships and contracts with distributors that must respect the deadlines otherwise the whole activities of the company can be jeopardized. Attractive presentation: Attractive products and stores are most likely to be seen, remembered and wanted by customers. It helps the subconscious of the customers to put a positive label on the product or service before even trying it. Consequently, logos, lights, colors, sounds and even smells are important to attract prospects.
Coffee shops should be close to an active area where there usually are people around in order to be easily accessed easily. Also, the stores should be visible to the public in order to be seen. Appropriate price: The price should not be too high for the product or services the company is offering. The brand must strike a balance.
Political
Starbucks, like other international companies, make use of the services of low-skilled European migrant people because those companies save costs and increase profit by paying them to the minimum wage. Pret A Manger declared also that only one out of fifty applicants is British (Carroll, 2017).
Economical
The price of coffee is very volatile, that means that its price always fluctuates depending on international economies (Sera, 2016).
Social
Every location is different and will have a different impact on every stores’ revenues.
Technological
We live in a fast-growing world when the digital world in part of our everyday lives. The companies need to invest in the future of interactive tools like social media or virtual reality. Primary Activities SWOT Analysis In order to identify new strategies to implement, we need to identify the strengths and take advantage of the opportunities to overcome the weaknesses and avoid the threats.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Opportunities:
Threats:
In order to come up with a set of potential strategies, I need to conduct a SWOT Matrix to evaluate all the possible combinations. I generated 4 types of options which can be used to maximize opportunities by using the strengths of the company or to overcome the weaknesses by benefiting from the same opportunities or to use the strengths to avoid the threats, or to minimize the weaknesses and the threats. Implementing the strategies to minimize the threats and weaknesses is mostly for defensive strategies.
Arnott’s Biscuits Limited is Australia’s largest biscuits producer and the second largest supplier of snack foods. It is a subsidiary of the Campbell Soup Company of the United States. An evaluation of the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats served as the foundation for this strategic analysis and marketing plan. The plan focuses on the company’s growth strategy in terms of building awareness and increasing the brand recognition for the company (Datamonitor (Firm), (n.d.). Environmental Analysis In 1865, a small bakery opened on Hunter St in Newcastle that supplied bread, pies and biscuits to the local people and to the crews of the many ships that docked at the port to load coal (Datamonitor (Firm), (n.d.). Arnott’s has grown into a producer of the best foods in the region. It has created more than fifty thousand jobs Australians. It also employs more people cross the world. A.
Get original essayThe food environment in Australia has been dynamically adopting technology in production mechanisms. However, there are factors that have been affecting the operations in the industry. These include:
Competitive forces. The competition in the food industry is very strong locally and internationally. Although Arnott’s is an Australian icon in the food industry. There are always other companies competing with them. It competes internationally as one of the largest food companies in the Asian Pacific region (Datamonitor (Firm), (n.d.).
Economic forces. Nationwide, many companies have reduced their overall production budgets as they focus on cutting prices. However, Arnott’s is spending around $250 million on produce, products and services for all the stakeholders, from the farmers to the suppliers. While overall promotion budgets are shrinking, many companies are diverting a larger percentage of their budgets to sales promotion and specialty advertising.
Political forces. There are no expected political influences or events that could affect the operations of Arnott’s Biscuits Limited.
In today’s society, consumers have less time for spending on food. The hallmarks of today’s successful products are convenience and ease of use. If the product does not save time and is not easy to use, consumers will simply ignore it. Arnott’s is focused on making every everyday moments a little more delicious (Datamonitor (Firm), (n.d.). B. Target Market(s) By focusing on commitment to service and quality, Arnott’s has effectively implemented a niche differentiation strategy in a somewhat diverse marketplace. Its ability to differentiate its product has contributed to superior annual returns. Its target market consists of all global markets. Its most profitable product are:
The company is also focusing on increasing its brand recognition. The analysis of current target markets assesses demographic, geographic, psychographic, and product usage characteristics of the target markets (Palmatier & Sridhar, 2017). It also assesses the current needs of each of the firm’s target markets, anticipated changes in those needs, and how well the organization’s current products are meeting those needs.
Arnott’s products differentiation strategy is the result of a strong marketing orientation, commitment to high quality, and customization of products and support services.
There is little turnover among employees who are well compensated and liked by customers. The staff promote camaraderie with coworkers and clients, and foster communication and quick response to clients’ needs.
A long-term relationship with the primary suppliers has resulted in shared knowledge of the products’ requirements, adherence to quality standards, and a common vision throughout the production process.
The high percentage of reorder business suggests a satisfied customer base, as well as positive word-of-mouth communication, which generates new business each year.
The highly centralized management hierarchy and lack of managerial backup may impede creativity and growth. Too few people hold too much knowledge. 2. Despite the successful, long-term relationship with the supplier, single-sourcing could make Arnott’s vulnerable in the event of a natural disaster, strike, or dissolution of the current supplier. Contingency plans for suppliers should be considered. 3. The seasonal nature of the product line creates bottlenecks in productivity and cash flow, places excessive stress on personnel, and strains the facilities. 4. Both the product line and the consumer base lack diversification. Dependence on current reorder rates could breed complacency, and invite competition. The development of a product that would make the company’s products obsolete would probably put Arnott’s out of business. 5. Arnott’s is reactive rather than assertive in its marketing efforts because of its heavy reliance on advertising to increase the consumer base.
Advertising expenditures in the United States exceed $132 billion annually. More than $25 billion of this is spent on direct-mail advertising, and another $20 billion is spent on specialty advertising. The potential for Arnott’s awareness and brand recognition is significant in this market.
Technological advances have made it easy for consumers to make orders and access Arnott’s from anywhere. It has also made it easy to perform awareness and brand recognition processes replacing the old word-or-mouth methods (Datamonitor (Firm), (n.d.). It has brought greater efficiency but also have increased the amount of stress in their fastpaced lives. Personal computers have become commonplace, and personal information managers have gained popularity.
As Australian companies look for ways to develop customer relationships rather than just close sales, reminders of this relationship could come in the form of acceptable premiums or gifts that are useful to the customer (Fuller et al, 2016).
Reengineering, right-sizing, and outsourcing trends in management may alter traditional channel relationships with brokers, dealers, and distributors or eliminate them altogether.
The technology, knowledge, and equipment required to create awareness and brand recognition is of great magnitudes. The possible entry of new competitors is a significant threat.
Theft of trade secrets and product piracy through unauthorized copying are difficult to control.
Specialty advertising through promotional items relies on gadgetry and ideas that are new and different. As a result, product life cycles may be quite short.
Single-sourcing can be detrimental or even fatal to a company if the buyer-supplier relationship is damaged or if the supplying company has financial difficulty.
Competition from traditional food industries is strong.
The acceptance of technological advances and the desire to control awareness and brand recognition creates a potential need for computer systems.
Arnott’s has more opportunity for business growth during its peak season and this would provide advances in the marketing objectives.
Arnott’s must modify its management hierarchy, empowering its employees through a more decentralized marketing organization.
Arnott’s should discuss future growth strategies with its supplier and develop contingency plans to deal with unforeseen events. Possible satellite facilities in other geographic locations should be explored.
Arnott’s should consider diversifying its product line to satisfy new market niches and develop nonseasonal products.
Arnott’s should consider surveying its current customers and its customers’clients to gain a better understanding of their changing needs and desires.
Arnott’s Biscuit Limited, is in the business of producing several quintessentially Australian biscuits. Besides formulating a marketing-oriented and customer-focused mission statement, Arnott’s should establish an objective to achieve cumulative growth in net profit of at least 50 percent over the next five years. At least half of this 50 percent growth should come from new, nonmanufacturing customers and from products that are nonseasonal or that are generally delivered in the off-peak period of the calendar cycle. During the development of a marketing plan, marketers attempt to match internal strengths to external opportunities.
In addition, they try to convert internal weaknesses into strengths and external threats into opportunities. The development of marketing objectives is based on environmental analysis, SWOT analysis, the firm’s overall corporate objectives, and the organization’s resources. For each objective, this section should answer the question, “What is the specific and measurable outcome and time frame for completing this objective?” Strategic Achievement of Marketing at Arnotts To accomplish its marketing objectives, Arnott’s should develop benchmarks to measure progress. Regular reviews of these objectives will provide feedback and possible corrective actions on a timely basis.
The major marketing objective is to gain a better understanding of the needs and satisfaction of current customers. Since Arnott’s is benefiting from a 90 percent reorder rate, it must be satisfying its current customers. Arnott’s could use the knowledge of its successes with current clients to market to new customers. In order to capitalize on its success with current clients, benchmarks should be established to learn how Star can improve the products it now offers through knowledge of its clients’needs and specific opportunities for new product offerings. Another objective should be to analyze the billing cycle r now uses to determine if there are ways to bill accounts receivable in a more evenly distributed manner throughout the year.
In addition, the need for enhanced provision of information will essentially provide reliable communication for repeat customers might be willing to place orders at off-peak cycles in return for discounts or added customer services. The use of software is likely to generate and should create new products that can utilize its current equipment, technology, and knowledge base (Park & Tran, 2018). It should conduct simple research and analyses of similar products or product lines with an eye toward developing specialty advertising products that are software based but not necessarily calendar related.
Keep in mind:
This is only a sample.
Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.
Get custom essayThe marketing plan clearly specifies and describes the target market towards which the organization will aim its marketing efforts. The difference between this section and the earlier section covering target markets is that the earlier section deals with present target markets, whereas this section looks at future target markets.
Maurya motors is a dealership of Tata motors associated with the selling of the commercial vehicles of the Tata motors. It works on the principle of 2’S i.e selling and services of Tata motors products. It was started in 2014 with an outlet only in Patna. But later it expanded to 4 more districts of Bihar. It Was started by MR. Neeraj Dwivedi.
Get original essayIt sells all the different types of Tata vehicles ranging from commercial vehicles to the private vehicles like sedan and SUVs.
It provides a holistic development to all the internee in terms of market experience and business models.
SWOT analysis of Tata motors
Strengths
The company had a successful alliance with the Italian giant Fiat in 2007.
The internationalization strategy so far has been able to keep the local managers in new acquisitions and to only transplant a couple of senior managers from India to the new market.
Weaknesses
Despite of buying Jaguar and Land Rover, Tata has not been able to get a foothold in the luxury segment.
The company’s passenger cars are based upon3rd and 4th generation platforms which put Tata motors at the back seat.
Opportunities
Fast expanding in the overseas market.
Introduction of the low cost electric vehicles.
Threats
New entrant`s in passenger cars market like Renault.
Luxury segment may not flourish due to the unplanned strategy of the managerial sects.
Marketing strategy of maurya motors-:
Segmentation
Maurya motors has divided his outlets into three parts – commercial vehicles, private vehicles and luxury vehicles.
Commercial vehicles – under this, Maurya motors sells all the vehicles used commercially like trucks, pick ups, etc.
They all have a contract with different districts of Bihar where they sell the vehicles used by the Municipal corporations.
Private vehicles – Under this, it sells the vehicles which are used for private purpose like sedans and SUVs.
Luxury vehicles – Under this, luxury models like Land Rover and Jaguar and sold.
They have different set of people for handling different segments.
SWAP Strategy
Under this strategy, it provides the customers with the facility to sell the old Tata vehicles to them at a lower rate and difference is deducted from the cost of the new model.
The old model is transported to the Tata plants of Pantnagar, Jamshedpur and Lucknow where they are sold to the Tata group.
Merger strategy
They have merged with the local governments of many districts in Bihar. This has given them an strategic edge over other counterparts. After this merger, they are regularly being published in different advertisement related to the municipal corporations.
Literature review
Shinde Govind P. and Dubey Manisha (2011) the examination has been led considering the sections, for example, traveler vehicle, business vehicle, utility vehicle, two and three wheeler vehicle of key players execution and furthermore break down SWOT investigation and key elements impacting development of car industry.
Sharma Nishi (2011) examined the monetary execution of traveler and business vehicle portion of the car business in the terms of four money related parameters to be specific liquidity, benefit, use and administrative productivity investigation for the time of decade from 2001-02 to 2010-11. The investigation infers that gainfulness and administrative productivity of Tata engines and additionally Mahindra and Mahindra ltd are attractive however their liquidity position isn't acceptable. The liquidity position of business vehicle is greatly improved than traveler vehicle fragment.
Singh Amarjit and Gupta Vinod (2012) investigated a diagram of vehicle industry. Indian vehicle industry itself as an assembling center point and numerous joint endeavors have been setup in India with remote cooperation. SWOT investigation done there are a few difficulties by the uprightness of witch vehicle industry faces part of issues and some imaginative key highlights are keyless passage, electrically controlled systems upgraded driving control, delicate feel insides and furthermore need to center in future around like fuel proficiency, outflow diminishment wellbeing and sturdiness.
Singh Amarjit and Gupta Vinod (2012) investigated an outline of car industry. Indian car industry itself as an assembling center point and numerous joint endeavors have been setup in India with outside coordinated effort. SWOT investigation done there are a few difficulties by the excellence of witch car industry faces part of issues and some imaginative key highlights are keyless section, electrically controlled instruments upgraded driving control, delicate feel insides and furthermore need to center in future around like fuel effectiveness, discharge decrease security and solidness.
Beam Sabapriya (2012) considered the example of vehicle organizations to assess the execution of industry through pointers specifically deals, creation and fare slant and so forth for time of 2003-04 to 2009-10. The examination finds that vehicle industry has been going through problematic stages by finished obligation load, under usage of benefits and liquidity insecurity
Research methodology
The primary data is collected through structured questionnaire. The secondary data is procured from journals, magazines and electronic sources. The sample size for the study is 50 and simple random sampling method is implemented for selecting the respondents. The respondents were explained about the purpose of the study and they were given questionnaire. The clarifications were given with utmost care to respondents while collecting primary data. The respondents are expected to have experience in using different motor vehicle.
Abstract
In the light of growing market opportunities for the motor companies, the present study focused on motivating factors of customers towards Tata motors. The purpose of the paper is to study the motivating factors in the shopping of motor vehicles.
Limitation of the study
The consumer behavior varies from time to time and the sample size of the study is small. The time and money are also other constraints to conduct an elaborate research study by considering various other factors. The research was conducted in Patna, Bihar State and the findings of the study may not be generalized to other geographical locations. The behavior is dynamic in nature therefore after a certain time period the conclusion so this study may not relevant while formulating marketing strategies.
Future research
Similar studies can be conducted in other geographical locations. There are other motivating variables like social status which need to be considered by researchers. The demographic variables like marital status and number of family members have not been considered in this study therefore future researchers can study the impact of family size on organized consumer behavior.
Sample design
The sample size of the respondents is 50. The sample design used in this research is Non-Random Sampling as this survey is for those who has used this network because from this sample design I can get the accurate result regarding the satisfaction level of the customers.
Data collection
Primary data- The data is collected is through questionnaires.
Secondary data- The data is collected from the web sites like the company profile and etc., and books is also referred for some theoretical concepts.
Tools and techniques used
Pie charts and Bar graphs have been used in this research because it gave me the complete and accurate result regarding the satisfaction level of the customers.
Questionnaire design
Age statistics
Q1.How many times have you used any Tata motors product?
A) 5-10
B) 10 times or above
C) 3-5 times
D) Other
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Q1-
Q2.Which of the following product of Tata motors have you used?
sedan
SUV
Commercial vehicle
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Q2-
In the above figure we can see that a sedan models are widely used.
Q3.Are you able to get the services of Tata motors?
Always
Rarely
usually
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Q3-
We can see that about 60% of the people get a good service.
Q4.What was your perception about Tata motors before using it?
A) Good quality
(B)Easy availability
(C)Other
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Q4-
we can see that people had a good view about Tata motors.
Q5.What was your perception about Tata motors after using it?
A) Good quality
B) Easy availability
C) Other
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Q5-
We can see that people use this for their good service availability.
Q6.Are you satisfied after your post use ofTata motors?
A) Excellent
B) Good
C) Average
D) Below Average
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Q6-
In the abovechart we can see that more than 50% of the customors are satisfied with the overall performance of the Tata motors products.
Q7.After using Tata motors,will you prefer other brand vehicle?
Yes
No
Can not say
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Q7-
We can see from above chart that 62% customers do not want to change their brand.
Q8.In which section do you feel Tata motors should improve?
A) Quality
B) Price
C) Easy availability
D) Other
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Q8-
In the given chart we can see that easily availability is the most important thing that the customers would like to improve.
Q9.Would you like to recommend Tata motors to your friends or relatives?
A).Yes
B).No
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Q9-
We can see that 62% of the total users are ready to recommend Tata motors to other users.
Q10.Would you like to re-purchase Tata motors product in future?
A) Yes
B) No
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Q10-
We can see that 64% of the total users are ready to re purchase any Tata motors product in future.
Findings
As per our survey conducted at Patna, we have come across the following findings.
Recommendations
As per my survey, Tata motors even reaches to the countryside places. But the biggest challenge for this company is the transformation from the 4th generation to the 5th generation vehicles.
Keep in mind:
This is only a sample.
Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.
Get custom essayIf it conquers the luxury segment very well, than it has a potential of becoming the most accepted vehicle manufacturer nationwide.
In superstitions, a mirror is thought to be a reflection of one’s soul; this is why shattering a mirror was and still is considered bad luck. In Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the concept of the reflected soul is used as an important tool of foreshadowing. However, rather than using a mirror, Dostoevsky uses characters to reflect the nature of others. The experiences of Seymon Zakharovich Marmeladov, a minor character, is used to reflect Raskolnikov’s process of guilt and confession. Raskolnikov and Marmaladov share similar experiences in dealing with their own demons.
Get original essayWhen Marmeladov is first introduced, he is described as an unkempt man drinking away his sorrows: “There were bits of hay clinging to his clothes and in his hair. He had probably not undressed or washed for five days. His hands were especially dirty, greasy, red from exposure, fingernails black” (Dostoevsky 11). Marmeladov’s dirty hands symbolize that he has already sullied them with a crime: alcoholism. This vice has thrown his family into a vicious cycle of poverty that is nearly impossible to escape, to the point where Sonya, his daughter, prostitutes herself for a few roubles. As such, he is suffering from the remorse of being unable to break his addiction. This is expressed continually throughout his long speech to Raskolnikov; he wants to help his family, yet his alcoholism prevents him from doing so. Furthermore, he has been struggling with it for an extended period of time, as in the tavern, “his talk seemed to elicit general if idle interest…Marmeladov was well known here and had acquired that rhetorical flair of his in many such talks” (11). However, for Raskolnikov, Marmeladov’s peril is new, and as a result, pitiful.
When Something Raskolnikov does not realize throughout his time with Marmeladov is that Marmeladov’s suffering is a foreshadowing of Raskolnikov’s own battle with guilt. Their conversation takes place after Marmeladov has been suffering with guilt, while Raskolnikov has yet to commit his own crime. After he brutally murders the two women, Raskolnikov begins to drown in his own remorse. His regret manifests itself when he is cleaning himself of the blood spattered on his apparel: “Here a strange thought came into his head: perhaps all his clothes were covered with blood, perhaps there were stains all over them, and he simply did not see, did not notice them, because his reasoning was failing, going to pieces…his mind darkening” (91). Whereas Marmeladov’s guilt manifests itself through ranting, Raskolnikov’s manifests itself through intense psychological illness, and just as Marmeladov’s alcoholism does not release its grip until he accepts his punishment of death, Raskolnikov’s mental cloudiness does not let go fully until he accepts his punishment and is shipped off to Siberia. Raskolnikov is lucky that a prison sentence is his punishment, as Marmeladov suffers a fate much worse.
When Marmeladov is trampled, there does not seem to be a lot of hope of his recovery, as “blood was flowing from his face and head. His face was battered, crushed, and mangled…” (170). With such low chances of survival, Raskolnikov convinces the policeman to bring the mangled Marmeladov to his family. As he dies, he uses up to his last breath to beg for forgiveness from both his wife and his daughter Sonya. This scene is similar to Raskolnikov later asking for forgiveness for his sins and entering a police station to confess. Both men feverishly ask for forgiveness, as they can no longer stand the guilt. At the last moments of his death, Marmeladov’s facial features are destroyed, thus losing his physical identity, similarly to how Raskolnikov loses the identity of innocence he has kept throughout the novel by confessing his crime to Ilya Petrovich at the police station.
The fact that Raskolnikov displays kindness to the Marmeladov further demonstrates the idea that the two men's lives are reflections of each other further demonstrate the similarity between the two men’s experiences. Raskolnikov leaves the Marmeladov family money on the windowsill after helping the drunk man home, and he pays for a doctor and brings the nearly dead Marmeladov to his family after the trampling. Raskolnikov’s kindness to him parallels Razumikin’s kindness to Raskolnikov. No matter how much Raskolnikov verbally abuses Razumikin, the former still cares for the sickly man, even buying him new clothing because of Raskolnikov’s increasing shabbiness.
Marmeladov’s alcoholism guilt parallels Raskolnikov’s murder guilt, and as a result their experiences are similar. Dostoevsky’s purpose of writing such a comparison may be to eliminate distinctions between vices; a murder is just as bad as destructive alcoholism, even if society may try to label one as better or worse. Thus, instead of judging others based on their crimes, it is important to realize that wronging others in in of itself is problematic.
Family relationships have evolved in many places and improved immensely, but not for the entire globe. In ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, life is a journey that is filled with obstacles. Odysseus has been at war for ten years and now he has spent ten years trying to return home. The journey has been long and full of trials, tribulations, and obstacles. In ‘The Odyssey’, the father and the son spend most of their time apart and it is through the distance that they developed admiration and love for each other. So this essay discusses why family is important on the example of The Odyssey.
Get original essayThe role of the family in ‘the Odyssey’ is the reunification of the family, as Odysseus struggles to return home and rejoin his wife and son. Social interaction is one of the most significant reasons why family is important. Homer emphasizes descriptions of food and drinks to celebrate the value of eating together as a family or a group and the opportunity that provides people to engage, interact, and establish new friendships. Homer celebrates the joys of healthy traditional home life. This helps them understand why he is so eager to return home preferring to go through all those troubles rather than staying with Calypso. As the text states “I am at home, for I am he. I bore adversities, but in the twentieth year, I am ashore in my land. I find the two of you, alone among my people, longed for my coming. Prayers I never heard except your own that I might come again” (Odysseus; Book 21). Odysseus denies staying with Calypso, not only because he loves his wife Penelope, but also because he doesn’t want to remain anonymous and lose his social identity. Odysseus defines himself by being part of his family and by his relationships with people. By deriving a sense of belonging home and the surrounding community, he is willing to go through hell until he reunites with his wife and son.
The first father and son bond is preformed by Poseidon and his son, Polyphemus. As the text states, “Hear me, dark-haired Girdler of the earth if indeed I am yours and you my sire. Grant that there be no homecoming for this Odysseus, son of Laertes of Ithaca. Yet if it is fated that he must see his friends once more in his stately house and fatherland, let it be late and miserably, in a strange ship, after losing all his crews. And let him find trouble there in the house” (Homer; Book 21). This shows how Polyphemus is crying out to his father in anger. Not because the Cyclopes is in danger, but because he needs to satisfy his feelings of vengeance. His father, Poseidon answers his request and does everything in his power to make sure Polyphemus’s wishes come true. Poseidon’s feelings towards Odysseus changes, due to the ill behavior shown to Polyphemus. It shows the concern and love Poseidon has for his son.
When Odysseus reveals himself to his son, Telemachus, the reaction of both characters is extremely humane. This monumental knowledge is a time of sentiment and emotion for both Telemachus and his son. Both characters were there for each other despite his self-confidence with the rest of the community. Odysseus breaks down at the sight of his son, As the text states “Then, throwing his arms around this marvel of a father, Telemachus began to weep. Salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men, and cries burst from both as keen and fluttering as those of the great taloned hawk, whose nestlings farmers take before they fly. So helplessly they cried, pouring out tears, and might have gone on weeping so till sundown. . . (Odyessus; Book 16).This shows how although the reader has never seen this side of Odysseus, this emotional moment showed a huge bound which is compelled by the bonding of his son, the immediate depth one feels for the other. This also shows how similar and different both pairs are because Polyphemus and Telemachus were both crying but both scenes were completely different in terms of emotion and reason.
Homer, on the other hand, portrays the idea of continuity between generations showing the relationship between father-son to be an endless cycle. All the sons were like their fathers, and they will have the same relations their fathers had with each other. As the text states “ For they imagined as they wished — that it was a wild shot, an unintended killing — fools, not to comprehend they were already in the grip of death” (Homer; Book 22). This shows how Telemachus, like his father, was bright and talented. Homer fights for the same goals and aims for what his father fought for. He wants to protect the family estate but is under constant attack from the suitors.
To conclude the essay, Odysseus has had a long journey full of struggles but has regardlessly made his way home to his family and has shown a bond with his son as well as the role of the family in ‘The Odyssey’.
It is only as an historian that he [the author] has the smallest locus standi. As a narrator of fictitious events, he is nowhere. --Henry James
Get original essayMarriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready to be institutionalized. --May West
One of George Eliot's challenges in Middlemarch is to depict a sexually desirous woman, Dorothea, within the confines of Victorian literary propriety. The critic, Abigail Rischin, identifies the moment that Dorothea's future husband, Ladislaw, and his painter-friend see her alongside an ancient, partially nude statue of the mythic heroine, Ariadne, in a museum in Rome as the key to Eliot's sexualization of this character. Ariadne is, in the sculpture, between her two lovers. Theseus, whom she helped to escape from her father's labyrinth in Crete has already left her, while the jubilant God, Bacchus, her next lover, has yet to arrive. "By invoking the silent visual rhetoric of ancient sculpture," writes Rischin, "George Eliot is able to represent the erotic female body far more explicitly than Victorian conventions of... language would permit... By juxtaposing the statue with Dorothea, Eliot displays Dorothea's erotic potential." Here, Eliot uses an allusion to another type of narrative to fully illustrate her own heroine, and empower her with emotions that Victorian women were not supposed to possess.
Later, Eliot, the novel's omnicient narrator, uses a parabol to explain her theory of perspectivism. She compares the self-centered characters of her creation to candels, who all see "concentric" patterns of events ("scratches," in the parabol) develop around themselves because their vision ("light") only extends so far in every direction; not because, as they think, events revolve around them (ch 27). J. Hillis Miller, in "Optic and Semiotic in 'Middlemarch,'" explains the etymolgy of the word "parable," a word which Eliot herself uses in the midst of telling it, saying, "It means 'to set aside,'... A parable is set or thrown at some distance from the meaning which controls it and to which it obliquely or parabolically refers." Eliot's decision to self-consciously utilize a parable resembles her allusion to the ancient statue. Unable to fully explain something by itself, Eliot takes advantage of literary devices to displace the content and coat it so that her reader may swallow the meaning.
Sir Thomas Browne's definition of "satire," which Eliot includes at the begining of chapter 45, further admits Eliot's awareness of the "displacing" (as Miller says) literary tact she employs in describing ideas that her reader will not otherwise be comfortable with, like her sexual female character or her complex theory on perspective. "Without the borrowed help and satire of times past;" goes the quotation from Browne, "condemning the vices of their own times [passed times], by the expressions of vices in times which they commend [present times]... [Satirists] cannot but argue the community of vice in both" (422). A bit earlier, Eliot puts the definition more subtely in the words of Mr. Brooke, Dorothea's father, "Satire, you know," he states, "should be true up to a certain point" (369). Middlemarch itself is written in the context of having taken place about 40 years prior (1832) to the point in time that the narrator herself occupies (1871). Likely, Eliot frames her criticisms of the town of Middlemarch such that they reflect on the then-current state of things in England.
An instance of Eliot's blatant use of satire herself in the novel takes place at the begining of chapter 35 when she compares the folk of Middlemarch to the animals boarding the biblical Noah's Ark, saying, "One may imagine [that] allied species made much private remark on each other" (318). She is pointing out the ridiculousness of the Middlemarch townspeoples' gossip loops by displacing the same problems onto a religious history. On yet a further level, though, Eliot is probably commenting on the propensity to gossip in then-modern England amongst her very readers. By making her historical fictional characters faulty, Eliot avoids a direct confrontation with these readers, who superficially sense that she is not judging them, but rather only her literary inventions; on a deeper level, however, they presumably see the similarities between themselves and, for instance, Mrs. Cadwallader. Again, we see Eliot removing herself from the actual thing she is discussing so that she may maintain her reader's attention and trust. As Miller says in another of his essays that discusses Middlemarch, "Narrative and History," Eliot "proposes a view of the writing of history [fiction] as an act of repetition in which the present takes possession of the past and liberates it for a present purpose." In Eliot's usage of all three of these devices: allusion, parable and satire, she is able to convey ideas and criticisms that would otherwise be difficult to get across without alienating her audience.
George Eliot does not, however, simply condemn obviously bad things like gossiping in Middlemarch. She also uses the forum to make a political criticism of the institution of marriage. For this, Eliot doesn't use any of the standard literary devices, such as I have just outlined, but she does keep to her method of displacement ("setting aside"). She draws implicit parrallels between the hot political topics, including slavery and serfdom discussed by the book's characters and the compromised position of married women. The public opinion of slavery in 1833 (the time of the novel's action) must have been fairly negative as it was that year abolished in the British Empire. Rischin says, in her essay on Dorothea's resemblance to Ariadne, "The narrator does not make explicit the parrallels between the sculpture and the living woman." Similarly, the narrator never outright calls on her reader to associate his probably sympathetic views to emancipation of actual slaves with married womens' rights. But, the connection is definitely implied by the metaphoric language Eliot uses.
The novel's central heroine, Dorothea, moves through two marriages in the course of the book, which takes place over about three years. In the first of these marriages, to a much older, probably impotent man named Causabon, she plays the role of a slave. Speaking of Causabon, Dorothea adeptly notes that "obligation," such as Causabon puts on her, "may be stretched till it is no better than a brand of slavery stamped on us when we were too young to know its meaning" (376, emphasis added). Likewise, she describes that in being with Casaubon she has "shut her best soul in prison, paying it only hidden visits" (410, emphasis added). Even after he dies, Casaubon manages to keep his "dead hand" in her life through the threat of taking away her inheritance, on which she is mostly financially dependent. If the reader is willing to agree that slavery is wrong, as would have been most likely given the time period and the opinions of the characters in Middlemarch, then the reader should also agree that keeping Dorothea in submission is wrong.
When Dorothea marries Ladislaw, regardless of the consequent loss of her fortune, she clearly has a better, more equal marriage to someone she loves and has a physical union with, but she is still the lesser member of that union. In fact, her place resembles the "hereditary farmer" on Mr. Brooke's land, Mr. Dagley. This sort of "man was free to quit if he chose, but... there was no earthly 'beyond' open to him" if he did (382). The sarcastic way the narrator descibes the farmer's theoretical options shows that in actuality the farmer is just another type of slave. Sadly, Dorothea's position as "wife and mother" with Ladislaw at the end eerily resembles that of Mr. Dagley. "Many who knew her [Dorothea]," the Finale says, "thought it a pity that so substantive and rare a creature should have been absorbed into the life of another... But no one stated exactly what else that was in her power she ought rather to have done" (793). For both, there is an illusion of freedom in actual slavery. Eliot is appealing to the reader's sense that slavery is wrong and trying to work from there smoothly toward married women's like lot. Both suffer from, what Eliot calls, the "humiliation of dependency" (648).
Yet a third in-vogue victim-ridden political issue discussed in the novel, capitol punishment, also applies to Dorothea's life. Ladislaw and Mr. Brooke, Dorothea's uncle, are both opposed to it (373); meanwhile Dorothea seems to be succumbing to it as a result of her suffocating relationships. Sir James is "convinced that... marriage [is] fatal for Dorothea," speaking specifically of her second one to Ladislaw (778). And, the literary critic, Miller, agrees when he states that Dorothea "nearly [made] a fatal mistake in marrying Casaubon." Capitol punishment is another form of slavery in some ways, as it is a way of excluding a person from participating properly in society.
Ladislaw is the mouthpiece for these liberal political views that are dominant in the novel. The critic, Terry Eagleton, calls Ladislaw's position, "an attempt to integrate liberal idealogy," into the work while Suzanne Graner concurs saying, "Will is himself a reformer." The character, Mr. Brooke, labels Ladislaw as having "enthusiasm for liberty, freedom, [and] emancipation" (346). Interestingly, "It is undeniable," the narrator states, "that but for the desire to be where Dorothea was... Will would not... have been meditating on the needs of the English people or criticising English statemanship." (441).
Rosamond, who, in many ways is the opposite of Dorothea, being selfish, vain and "disposed to admonish her husband" (792), is the second of Middlemarch's heroines. Conversely to Dorothea, Rosamond cements her own subjugation by obsessing over the slave-master relationship herself and wanting to be dominant. One of her first thoughts when she begins to fancy her future husband, Dr. Lydgate, is that he "would be especially delightful to enslave" (116). "How delightful to make captives from the throne of marriage with a husband as crown-prince by your side -- himself in fact a subject" (417). The reason she is so quick to cling to the notion of this sort of relationship is that she is a model member of society, the top of her class. She internalizes the processes that are normal and perpetuates them. Thus, she actually ends up being subjected to a painful enslavement herself when Lydgate loses face. Dorothea summarizes Lydgate's feelings on the subject to Rosamond, saying that "his marriage was of course a bond" and that one must "walk always in fear of hurting another who is tied to us" (757, emphasis added). Rosamond is "tied" to her husband and must bear with the consequences of all his actions. In trying to subjugate him to herself, she just brought them into that brand of interaction so he could easily dominate her when the time came for him to fall.
The third heroine, Mary Garth, seemingly ends up with the most happy marriage at the novel's Finale, but even she is "bound" like the rest of them (792). "Most persons were inclined to believe that the merit of Fred's authorship was due to his wife... But when Mary wrote a little book... every one in the town was willing to give the credit of this work to Fred" (789). Their life is happy because they are both creating and they financially stable, but the work they do is taken away from them because of the marital construct. Much as a slave is not free to own anything -- everything he has truly belongs to his master -- so too, the members of marriage don't even own their intelletual property.
The smaller, self-contained anecdotes about marital relations that come up in the novel are even more extreme examples of this same trend: marriage as slavery for women. In passing, our narrator, in the indirect voice of the people, tells us that Mr. Bulstrode was "'given to indulgence' -- chiefly in swearing, drinking, and beating his wife" (228). Here, the fact that he beats his wife is as mundane as his other habits and not considered as something of particular concern by the townspeople. It is tolerable for a man to treat his wife as his subject. Lydgate's first love, the actress Laure feels so stifled by her marriage that she goes to the opposite extreme and murders her husband for being "too fond" and wanting to "live in Paris," and not in her hometown (148). "I do not like husbands. I will never have another," she declares, thereby summarizing one of the messages Eliot is trying to convey throughout (149).
Not only does Middlemarch's content seem to denounce Victorian marriage, Eliot's personal life as Mary Ann Evans supports this atypical stance. For 24 years, Eliot lived with George Henry Lewes in a romantic relationship, though she was not married to him. Additionally, the political environment of the time she was writing about and the time she was writing from, was one of serious governmental reforms. In 1829, "Catholic emancipation ending most denials or restrictions of Catholic civil rights" came about. A few years later, in 1833, slavery was abolished in the British empire. And, Eliot's written "picture of provincial society in England" is set "just before the Reform Bill of 1832," while the narrator is writing from a few years after the second Reform Bill of 1867. Both of these bills increased the number of people who could vote and lead "inevitably to the democracy" that England "eventually" estabished. Similarly, just one year before the first publication of Middlemarch, the Married Womens' Property Act was passed (1870). Although women did not completely get the vote in England until 1928 (ten years earlier women over the age of 30 were included as a result of the 4th Reform Bill), Eliot's Middlemarch does approach the problem of womens' lack of freedom in marriage. She tries to pull her reader in through an imminent critique that makes use of her reader's probably already-held negative opinions about slavery, and then she tacitly shows that that reprehensible situation is reflected in the lives of women in marriage's constricting grasp.
Bibliography
Bogdanor, Vernon, The People and the Party System, London: Cambridge University Press, 1981.
Eagleton, Terry, "George Eliot: Ideology and Literary Form," in Middlemarch: New Casebooks, Ed. John Peck.
Eliot, George, Middlemarch, Great Britain: Penguin, 1994.
Graner, Suzanne, "Organic Fictions," in in Middlemarch: New Casebooks, Ed. John Peck.
Miller, J. Hillis, "Narrative and History," in ELH (English Literary History), vol. 41 (1974). pp. 455-473.
Miller, J. Hillis, "Optic and Semiotic in Middlemarch," in Middlemarch: New Casebooks, Ed. John Peck.
Morgan, Kenneth O. (Ed.), The Oxford Popular History of Britain, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Keep in mind:
This is only a sample.
Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.
Get custom essayRischin, Abigail S., "Ekphrasis, Narrative and Desire in Middlemarch," in PMLA, vol. 111. pp. 1121-1132.
Marriage is an important social institution. It is a relationship which is socially approved. The relationship is defined and sanctioned by custom and law. The definition of the relationship includes not only guidelines for behaviour relating to sex but also regarding things like the particular way labour is to be divided and other duties and privileges. Children born of marriage are considered the legitimate offspring of marriage coupled. This legitimacy is important in the matter of inheritance and succession. Thus marriage is not only a mean of sexual gratification but also a set of cultural mechanisms to ensure the continuation of the family. It is more or less a universal social institution in India.
Get original essayMarriage is a sacramental bond between two permissible mates i.e.” a male or a female which is sanction by the court or the committed authority.”
The Marriage system had undergone radical changes especially radical changes especially after independence. Even though the basic beliefs associated with marriage have not crumbled down, many of the practices , customs and forms have changed.
The recent changes are briefly discussed here:
Though these new trends are observed today the importance of marriage has not diminished it is still universally practice, though its sanctity is affected a little.
In this paper I would like to talk about how the act of modernization has impacted the marriage custom, and role of the kinsmen in light of the marital customs of the Thadou -Kuki Society. In this paper I would like to bring into picture how Christianity has impacted to the norms and customs of marriage of these people group. What the drawbacks where and how did the community respond to the Christian ideology of Holy Matrimony; and how it has held on to its traditions while still keeping up with the religious transition after colonization? I would also like to point out how the two cultural and religious ideology of marriage has similar impact on the community and what are their positive aspects.
Get original essayThe Thadou-Kuki society has many ancient tradition and customs, it is one of the people group in north east with varied rules and customs be it for birth, death or marriage. Every activity has various norms and customs associated with it, and marriage being one of the most important events in life of an individual is attached with various customs and norms which he is required to carry out. There is four recognized types marriage among the Thadou namely: chongmu, sahapsat, jol-lha' and kijam tnang. The first two forms are considered proper marriage, while the other two amounts to forms of elopement where there is no proper ceremony.
Chongmu: In this form of marriage, the bridegroom’s parents send go between to the parents of the bride to find out if they agree to allow the union. If the parents of the bride give their consent, they kill a pig for the representatives (their kinsmen) of the bridegroom, they dine together and ju (rice beer for instance) is drunk. This is referred to as sumtansha. After this there is a settlement made as to the amount of marriage price to be paid, they instead discuss how much of it should be brought on the wedding day. If the question of return of the m?n (marriage price) should ever arise for reason like divorce then the sumtansha expenditure is returnable. During that time, itself the date for taking the bride is fixed alongside this feast. The representatives of the bridegroom’s people then return and inform him and his parents of the settlement. There may be some haggling over the amount of the marriage price, but the full amount to be paid is finally settled before the bride is taken away. When everything is finalized, the bridegroom sends strong young men along with his representatives to take the bride on the fixed day, sending the amount of the marriage price agreed on to be paid at the time, but leaving the greater part as a balance to be paid later. These representatives are celebrated at the expense of the bride’s people and both parties wrestle and much dung and filth are thrown at the bridegroom’s party.
Drums and gongs are played and songs sung in the evening by all together while feasting. The next day the bridegroom’s party departs triumphant with the bride and the marriage is complete except for the wrench of paying up the balance of the price by degrees. After the bridegroom has taken his wife, the marriage is still not consummated till she revisits her father’s house on a subsequent date previously agreed upon, when a further installment of the maupi (bride-price) is paid. This may be a few days, a month, or even three months later.
This throwing of mud, dung and rotten eggs at the bridegroom’s party takes place at three occasions* first on its arrival at the bride’s house; next when the pig is killed or the feast on the following day, and finally when the bridegroom’s party departs, which must be before dawn on the day after that. The wrestling likewise takes on these three occasions, and the young men who wrestle must be perfect, none of them must lack a limb or an organ or even a little finger joint. This condition also applies rigidly to the thempu who officiates at the wedding.
Shapsat: In this form of marriage unlike the Chongmu, the wrestling and other festivities are not indulged in and generally the bride is taken away the same day or early the next morning. c) Jol-lha: This kind of marriage system doesn’t have any arrangement with regards to the marriage price. It is a case of marriage due to the pregnancy of the women which is the result from an intrigue between a young man and a girl. This man takes her to be his wife as a consequence, when her state is made known. No previous arrangement exists between the parties and there are no marriage ceremonies.
The man however is settled upon as a rule.
Kijam Mang: When a young man and girl elope and live together without or against the consent of the parents of either or both parties. No ceremonies are held and the man is settled on in due course. In the last two forms of marriage there is no sumtansha and therefore, none can be claimed hereafter in case of divorce. In these two forms of marriage a ceremony called inlut is usually performed by the husband after a period of time; it is merely a way of approaching the parents of the woman and making his peace with them. It is usually at this time that the marriage price is fixed on. Inlut in its literal sense means “house-entering,"’ the eloping pair being thus recognized as daughter and son-in-law. Bride PriceThe question on the amount of marriage prices among the Thadou’s is not definite. Chiefs and wealthy persons usually claim and pay the equivalent of 10 mithun, Rs. 200 in cash, 2 Dapi (large gong), 2 Dapu (set of trio gongs), 2 Khichang (ear beads); 2 Khichong (necklaces). The ordinary person often actually pays a couple of mithun, khichang and a khichong and Rs. 25 or so in cash. In most cases the man is commuted. For example, a pig in some cases may be taken as one mithun. There are cases where Rs. 40 has stood for 4 mithun and a jar of ju for a khichang or khichong. Thus, the parent of the bride hardly ever receives the marriage price in full, but more or less in the form of fictitious substitutes.
They love to name large amounts as the man not with any guarantee of getting it, but for the sake of pride that their daughter was married for so much; when questioned as to what precisely they received, it will be found that actually a much smaller amount has been accepted in full satisfaction by a system of fictitious values. Here we see that though it is a huge amount in the sense of the term but unlike the Hindu Dowry system it is not very rigid. Besides very few, if ever intend paying the man of their wives in full themselves, as it is accustomed thing that their sons or next-of-kin male heirs should pay some if not the greater part. Therefore, it is often seen that claims are admitted as outstanding for more than 5 generations for balance of man still unpaid. Consequently, the present generation is inevitably burdened by debts due for great-great-grandmothers and aunts and other relatives whose descendants they are or represent. So, the Thadou tribe is full of litigation on this score and the Christian movement has done good in this direction. The varied Bride prices that can be claimed by the bride’s family as given below:
Mankeng: Mankeng is a mithun which may be claimed by the bride’s father’s brother or by his best friend, but in return he must give the bride a dowry in the form of necklaces, etc. To claim this, however, he must at different times, kill three pigs or their theoretical equivalents, for the husband or for his male next-of-kin if the husband be dead, but it is considered a breach of etiquette for the claim to be made by anyone other than the husband. If the donor dies before one pig is killed no claim lies against the bridegroom.
Sumkhao Sat Tan Man: If after being betrothed by the act of sumtansha, the girl remarries then one mithun has to be paid to the grooms first elected for breach of promise. The same applies to the man should he fail to carry out his contract, and a mithun is payable to the girl’s parents. But in that case, it is called jouman (for lying).
Chalam: The first child that dies in a family is known as the chalam. No long man is claimable for it, that implies to the first group (father, mother and child) but as soon as one of these children grows up and marries and has a child he is considered to have left the family for Chalam as they form a fresh unit or group. Jalkhunchonman: This payment of mithun is in lieu of the second man to the parents or nearest male kin of the women by her second husband if he is the brother or in direct relation to her first husband. This is because it is customary for a brother to take the wife of his deceased brother although he may be already married. A form of polygamy can be traced here.
Noitnichonman: When a woman’s husband dies and she doesn’t return to her parental home but goes on to live in her husband’s home or village. And if she happens to marry another person, then one mithun is paid to the late husband’s next-of-kin male by her new husband in addition to any man which may be agreed on between him (new husband) and her parents to be paid to the latter. On second marriage full man is never taken for a divorced, widowed or runaway wife. It must be at least one mithun less according to custom. This second marriage price is spoken of as nungkitman, lamlhang chotlha man or lamlhang Iho'lha’ man and not as man or manpi.
Dumdi'man: This is a payment of one mithun, should a married woman die without having a child this is paid as a form of completion of all the dues to her father or next of kin male. No longman is due either.
Dumdi’man is only paid when none of her man or nungkitman has been paid up. If any part has already been paid of the man or nungkitman then the death of the woman merely cancels the balance. Dumdi’manna can be claimed only if she has given birth to a girl child and has no boys, but in present day there is a new school which advocates that if girls are born then the full man should be paid since the girl’s man will be enjoyed by the husband or next-of-kin male. William Shaw says, in such cases one mithun of the marriage price of each girl is paid to the next-of-kin male of the mother at the time of the marriage in compensation for the loss of the man the mother’s people suffered. If a boy has been born then full man has to be paid although much of it is usually compounded for a smaller sum unless the parties happen to be at enmity, when they fly to the court in hopes of pulling a larger tooth.
Jol-lei: This is an amount of one mithun to be paid by the courter of a pregnant lady to her father or male next-of-kin, if he does not marry her. If he intends to take the child when wean able, then he has to pay yet another mithun for maintenance to the father or next-of-kin at time of taking over the child. This is called Chavahman, if he refuses to take the child when wean able then it is treated as a member of its mother’s family. However, at time when the question of Jol-lei is settled the paramour must then say whether he intends taking the child or not and must adhere to that. The child should strictly speaking be born in the paramour’s house thus according it a formal recognition of parentage.
Sukai: this is an amount of Rs. 4 paid by the bridegroom to the Chief or the village to which the bride belongs when he takes her as his wife. The story of how this came about is an intriguing one. In the time of the chief Munthom one of his villagers took to wife one Kilnem and fled away to Khodai village. Munthom went to Khodai village to call them back but was killed by the villagers of that village. Mangjel, brother of Munthom, was too much of a coward to avenge his brother’s death but when Thomhil, son of Munthom, grew up he attacked Khodai village and killed many taking a war drum and mithun horn. He then said he would take sukai from all who married girls of his village hence forth as the longman of Muntlion and so the custom became established.
Jachatman: It is an amount of one mithun paid by the man who entices away or makes pregnant another man’s wife. It is paid by the adulterer to the husband. In addition, he has to recoup to the husband all man or nungkitman yet paid.
The woman’s father or male heir will then sue the adulterer for the balance still due.
Divorce: If a man drives away his wife without cause then he forfeits all paid man or nungkitman and in addition has to pay one mithun as Daman(refusal). If the woman runs away from her husband for no cause then the paid man or nungkitman is returnable to the husband. It is customary for the man to attempt to call back his wife should she go away from him. If he does not do so then it is obviously a case for daman and forfeiture of such man or nungkitman as has been paid. If she refuses to return in spite of the request to do so, then man is returnable. The causes of divorce are often very trivial and mostly the man is to blame in some way or other. Thadou’s often work their way through divorces in such a manner so as to avoid the customary financial consequences.
Sumken (money carried): This is the dowry given to the bride by the brother or best friend her father. The original name was Thilken (materials carried) which means Property gift’' which has been modernized to Money gift. "
Lutom (head covering): This is the gift of a black cloth (that called pondum) to the bride’s mother by the husband for having given birth to the girl he has chosen.
Laisui: It is the gift of a pugaree to the father of the bride by the husband for being the begetter of the girl he has selected.
These are few of the customary laws and norms practiced by the Thadou people with regards to marriage customs. Accordingly, there is varied amount of manpi for the bride according to the clan and order of her birth. Christianization: and its impact on the Thadou community Wherever the European Powers, and later on Americans, spread their political and commercial tentacles, the Christian Mission accompanied them. So, naturally North-East India, drew their attention. And like everywhere else in India, the proselytization in this region too began through schools, hospitals and orphanages. We see how slowly the traditional practices be it religious or customary were being replaced by so called Christian tradition and norms. While there were only four schools and only 85 church goers in 1851, the numbers had risen by 1856, to 74 and 1922 respectively. The Garos, who first became converts in large numbers, accounted for 875 out of 1922. The number of converts went on increasing rapidly in all parts of North-East India.
The membership of the Nagaland Baptist Church alone increased from 28,623 in 1941 to 88,378 in 1965, an increase of more than 300 per cent. According to the 1971 census, the Christian population in the North-East was more than 1. 7 million or 9. 12 per cent. The states of Nagaland (66. 86 per cent), Meghalaya (46. 94 per cent), Manipur (26 per cent) and Mizoram, (86. 14 per cent) are the most Christianized in the North-East. The schools, colleges and churches, opened by the Christian Missions, went a long way in changing the needs, as well as the perception of such needs, among the local people. They provided new ideas, elements of new culture and new ideologies. In many cases, the sudden void created at the ideological level due to a change in traditional Jhum cultivation was filled by Christianity. As one of the informants of Majumdar (1978, 150) says, “we have no rice to prepare rice beer, so we cannot perform Amua or Krita when somebody is ill in the house. Now that we have accepted Christianity, we do not need to perform such rites, we go to the doctor and bring medicine which is much cheaper than providing Chu or ju. When some of our kinsmen visit us, we offer them a cup of tea, which costs little. We need not now offer Chu to them, even a small pot of which costs five or six rupees.
From this we see how Christianity became widely spread in northeast this as an effect also reached to the Thadou community, and from the vigorous rituals of marriage customs there was a sudden shift in the dynamics of the marriage norms in the Thadou community. Where once the Thadou community who took pride in their customs and tradition to todays scenario where only 10 out of 100 population of the Thadou community still rigidly follow this norm. In other light if we evaluate the Jewish customs and norms there seem to be certain linkages to the Thadou society and through this we see how although Christianity has taken its tool on this people group yet it seems to be the case where the tradition of the Kuki community is adapted into the Christian culture. The Thadou community is one example of a community that has imbibed into its tradition Christian values, although it has still held on to its own traditions. Holy Matrimony, as a concept is very much popularized especially in the present day Thadou society it is seen as a means of boasting for the families which replaces the amount of the bride price culture mentioned earlier.
The concept of purity has pushed many to follow the first form of marriage mentioned above that is the Chongmu. This has very good impact on the community group as this help prevent elopement and unwanted pregnancies, yet although it has many positive factors attached to it yet we see that it has various drawbacks as well. With the concept of Holy matrimony especially with the poorer people group of the Thadou society seem to have to suffer most as many today use it as a platform to showcase wealth and their piousness; but the negative impact seems to be the fact that in many Thadou society it can be seen today, that parents encourage their children to elope. As we have seen earlier that the expenditure of eloping seems to be far less and all that is required of them is the inlut. Christianity motivates and yet pervades all, their meaning reflects something beyond their present conditions and enables them to rise above their circumstances. This allows the individual to carryout his activity in a more meaningful and purposeful ending. It creates a form of general order of existence which we see very much in the Thadou community.
In present statistics majority of the Thadou population are Christians with varied denominations this has had its own drawback with division among the people group yet it has also laid down a set of conduct in the society. It can be said that due to its Patriarchal foundation can be seen why Christian practices seem to be legit and reasonable. Conclusion As in the case of Christianity and marriage norms of the Thadou society, as we can see that there are various norms and consequential laws enforced by the Thadou society on its people group, it can thus be seen why Christianity is an easily acceptable religion to these people group. Because though not completely identical but most of the laws put out by the Thadou society for its people group seem to resonate though not in totality but to a great extent with their cultural norms and practices. We cannot keep praising Christianity as it does have its own drawback like I mentioned earlier it tends to push people towards being materialistic, individualistic and there seems to be a segregation and alienation of the people group in the society who do not completely imbibe to the Christian norms. But also, on the other hand it does promote a more community-based society interdependent on one another but it is not so for those who do not follow or seem to agree to these religious norms.
Keep in mind:
This is only a sample.
Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.
Get custom essayChristianity and its role in the marriage system of the Thadou society seem to be that of a mixture of culture orientation in a more vibrant sense of the term yet, we also see that in the process of being Christianized most of the norms traditions and values of the society seems to have been forgotten or subtly replaced by Christian values. This has led to two extremes in the Thadou society one group completely disregarding traditional norms and practices for their Christian faith while the other being in the other extreme and rigidly still following the traditional ancestral norms. There have been efforts made to draw a middle ground between the two extremes and in a positive light there seems today that the people group have finally succeeded in imbibing traditional as well as religious practices together. For example, the Kut festival, traditionally it is the spring festival but today it is also taken as a day to thank God for all his blessings. Therefore, we see that this society has been able to draw to a great extent a middle ground between cultural and religious norms.