At Home In Mitford Essay Example For Students

At Home In Mitford Essay No information was found on the author except for the conclusions that weredrawn from the picture on the back of the novel. Jan Karon looks to be in hermid-sixties, and seems to be a strong Christian women from her writing styleused in the novel. Jan Karons At Home in Mitford, is set in Mitford, NorthCarolina in present time. Father Tim is the main character in the novel. He isthe rector at The Lords Chapel in Mitford. He is a sixty year old friendly manwho devotes his time to his church, the members of the church, and his dog,Barnabas. He is a simple man that likes his simple life. Next is Emma, who isFather Tims secretary at the church. She is a middle-aged, nosy sort of woman. She is a gossip, a snoop, and very finicky, but an overall nice and caringperson. Mrs. Sadie is a ninety year old Georgia peach. She always brings applesand pies to Father Tim and others. Her family was very wealthy, therefore sheowned half of the county in apple orchards. She is a very sweet,old, Christianlady. Dooley is an orphan girl who moves in with Father Tim. She is a teenagetomboy who instantly befriends the rector and constantly bugs him. Mitford isthe ideal small town. Nestled between mountain ranges, and overlookingbeautiful, rolling, foothills, it is the type of town where you could fallasleep anywhere. Crime and trash were not thought of, only chocolate chipcookies from mattie baxters bakery. It was the type of town where everybodyowns a flower garden. The town contained one grocery store, one clothes shop,one bakery, and all other business were on the same block. Father Tim was theperfect rector for such a town. He is a jolly old man who never met a stranger,never marri ed, and had a set pattern according to the day of the week. One couldonly imagine how a sixty year old, simple man would feel when a huge two hundredpound wolf hound dog falls in love with him out of nowhere and would not let himout of sight. Father Tim first saw the dog when he was tackled by the running muttearly one morning. The rector had never liked dogs and would not dare considerowning one. But something happened when the dog, soon to be named Barnabas, satcompletely still while Father Tim recited his latest sermon, the only thing thathe could think to say when the dog would not stop licking him. The two instantlybecame sort of fascinated with each other, and were instantly bound for life.

LensCrafters Essay Example

LensCrafters Essay LensCrafters Name: Instructor: Institution: We will write a custom essay sample on LensCrafters specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on LensCrafters specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on LensCrafters specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Course: Date: LensCrafters Introduction LensCrafters provides eye care services to customers in America, Canada and Puerto Rico with an estimated 860 distributed stores. Its headquarters are in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are known for prescribing sunglasses and eyeglasses and are considered the biggest optical chain in America. It started in 1983 as the only optical store to guarantee eyeglasses in less than an hour. Today, LensCrafters is one of the foremost optical retailers with immaculate customer services, excellent products and â€Å"some of the biggest names in frames† (LensCrafters, 2012). They fit lenses using state-of-the-art equipment to ensure that the customers receive the perfect lenses. With their â€Å"LensSimulator†, they help clients to find the right lens for their sight. LensCrafters offers only expert care for their customers with proficient optometry doctors at every store. CBP, Strategy and Competitive Priorities LensCrafters’s mission statement is focused on being the best at providing exceptional customer service. Their Customer Benefit Package involves providing goods and services that meet the needs of individual customers, all in about an hour. They are popular in North America for their legendary eye exams, an extensive variety of lenses and frames, service delivery in less than one hour, pocket-friendly prices and the unrestricted 90-day guarantee. They also have conveniently located branches, professional employees, the latest eye-exam equipment and eyewear accessories to meet the different tastes of their loyal customers. LensCrafters portray their commitment through honest care for their customer’s eyes and constantly are determined to improve the experiences of their customers. The associates at LensCrafters are straightforward and transparent with their clients. At LensCrafters, the customers are put first and the employees seek to maintain the connection they have w ith their customers. Service Delivery System Design LensCrafters have their branches conveniently located in highly populated areas like shopping malls. This ensures that they reach their target market faster. Their shops are large, sanitary with carpeted floors, specialized display sections, well furnished retail area, fully equipped laboratory with the latest machinery and well-lit rooms. Clients and employees interact in the eye-exam rooms and â€Å"fitting stations† (Collier Evans, 2010). The walls are decorated with certificates and degrees as evidence of the competencies of the employees. Customers are greeted by the relevant employees when they enter the store and directed to the appropriate service area. Here, their eyes are examined and the proper lenses prescribed. The customer is led to the display area where they choose the frames of their liking. The customer watches as the spectacles are being prepared in the laboratory and they get a last fitting. Constant communication is maintained between the customer and the employees. Service Encounter Design The employees at LensCrafters possess the required skills and knowledge for optimum work productivity. Laboratory technicians have the needed certifications for their line of work and all other employees undergo training before and during their period of employment. The employees at LensCrafters offer unsurpassed services because they are well motivated with rewards and employment recognitions from the management team. Grooming is paramount at LensCrafters because their line of service is eye care, which is sensitive. Therefore, all employees and associates observe acute cleanliness measures within and without the stores. Customer relations at LensCrafters is incomparable hence the reason why they have devoted customers and continue to win the hearts of many. Lessons Demonstrated Other organizations might learn to have unmatched mission statements that act as motivators towards providing the best goods and services to their customers. Addressing the needs of customers is also important in any organization, as this enhances the relationship of the organization and their clients. Customers should not be kept waiting during their visit to any organization, there should be assigned employees to deal with customers from the time they book their appointments to the time they leave. The connection between the customer and the organization should not be disrupted. Any business that offers goods and services should employ warranties as one of their business terms and conditions. Like LensCrafters who have a 90-day guarantee on all their products, organizations should provide their customers with the option of returning goods. Business location is imperative when it comes to accessing the target market. LensCrafters has branches in the most convenient places for the sake of their customers. Organizations should ensure that they are located near their customers. This will increase sales and strengthen customer relations. Customer needs are put first and employee honesty is essential for success in any organization. There should be variety in the goods and services offered by the organization with reasonable prices. Customers should be able to have a wide variety from which to choose. Personal and professional hygiene is one of the most important factors for impeccable service provision. The employees of the organization should observe cleanliness regardless of the nature of business. This will guarantee customer loyalty, commitment and trust. Organizations should ensure that they recruit highly qualified employees and offer training services before and during employment. This promotes employee and general business productivity. Inclusive transparency should be encouraged between the organization and its customers in terms of offering the best services. Once a relationship is established between the employees and their customers, constant communication should be maintained. Excellent after-sales services involve employees valuing the customers’ feedback and monitoring their progress after service provision. Organizations should provide proper motivation to the employees because this will reflect how they interact with customers. This can be done through employee performance records and rewarding systems. Service provision is nothing without the latest equipment. Organizations should employ the latest machinery in their laboratories and factories for convenience. Technological advancements have changed the way organizations conduct business by improving working apparatus. LensCrafters use the latest eye care equipment in their laboratories and examination areas to ensure their customers receive the right lenses for their sights. These improvements will guarantee exceptional services. It is also important for organizations to set the recommended behavior standards of their employees. Conclusion LensCrafters are still the only optical retailers whose services are offered in less than an hour. This trait is what makes then unique in their line of business and a threat to their competitors in the eye care market. They possess excellent technical and management skills, which continue to flourish their business in all their branches. LensCrafters have the required characteristics for successful businesses (Benioff Southwick, 2004). Some of their characteristics should be adapted by organizations for growth and strong customer relations. Their service provision includes employee transparency and putting the needs of their customers first and this is why they are rated number one in the United States of America. Reference Benioff, M. R., Southwick, K. (2004). Compassionate capitalism: How corporations can make doing good an integral part of doing well. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press. Print. Collier, D. A., Evans, J. R. (2010). OM2. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Print. LensCrafters (2012). â€Å"About LensCrafters†. Retrieved from http://www.lenscrafters.com/eyeglasses/7/about/company-history-about-lenscrafters

Polo vs Galileo essays

Polo vs Galileo essays Since the art of making fire and creating handcrafted tools, our civilization has come a long way. Science and technology are making advances at an amazing rate. From telephones to the internet, calculators to computers, cars to airplanes, and rockets to satellites, we are submerged in a sea of discoveries and inventions made possible only by the desire to explore. Exploration is one of the oldest and most widespread of human activities. People in all times and places have engaged in some form of exploration. Many think exploration is limited to travels to unknown lands such as the expeditions of Lewis and Clark or those of Christopher Columbus, but exploration is more. Exploration includes the desire to do new things, to formulate new ideas, and to go against the status quo. Marco Polo and Galileo Galilei are two prime examples of the quintessential explorer. Although each explored different realms of the world, they both share common characteristics found in all explorers. Th rough their travels and experimentation one can see the many similar and contrasting styles each took to accomplish his goals. Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice, Italy (Hubbard 2001). He was a Venetian explorer and merchant whose account of his travels in Asia was the primary source for the European image of the Far East until the late 19th century. Despite his enduring fame, very little is known about the personal life of Marco Polo. He lived during a propitious time in world history, when the height of Venices influence as a city-state coincided with the greatest extent of Mongol conquest. Ruled by Kublai Khan, the Mongol Empire stretched all the way from China to Russia and the Levant. The Mongols brought a measure of stability to the lands they controlled, opening up trade routes such as the famous Silk Road (Marco n.d.). The Polo's had long-established ties in the Levant and around the Black Sea. From Sudak, around 12...

Billie Holiday Biography

African American jazz singer and songwriter. Her singing style, strongly inspired by Jazz musicians, lead too new way of using word choice and rhythm. A critic named John Bush once wrote that Holiday changed the art of American pop vocals forever. She only co-wrote a few songs, but a number of them have become Jazz standards that many musicians strive to live up to. Some of these standards were set by songs of hers such as God Bless he Child, Dont Explain, Fine and Mellow, and Lady Sings the Blues.She also became famous for singing Easy Living, Good Morning Heartache, and Strange Fruit, a protest song which became one of her standards and was made famous with her 1 939 recording. In Harlem she started slang In various night clubs. Holiday Hammond arranged for Holiday to make her recording debut, at age 18, In November 1933 with Benny Goodman, singing two songs: Your Mothers Son-Len-Law and Riffing; the Scotch. The latter being her first big hit.Son-in-Lawn sold 300 records, but Riffle the Scotch, sold 5,000 records. Hammond was very impressed by Holidays visualization style. He said of Holiday that, Her singing almost changed my music tastes and my musical life; because she was the first girl singer Id come across who actually sang like an improvising Jazz genius. Hammond compared Holiday positively to Armstrong and said she had a good sense of lyrics at her young age. In early 1 959 Holiday found out that she had cirrhosis of the liver.The doctor told her to stop drinking, which she did for a short time, but soon returned to heavy drinking. Some of her friends tried to get her to check into a hospital, but she did not go. On May 31, 1959, Holiday was forcibly taken to Metropolitan Hospital in New York suffering from liver and heart disease. She was arrested for having drugs with her as she lay dying, and her hospital room was invaded by the police. Police officers were stationed at the door to her room because of her drugs.Holiday remained under Alice guard at the hospital until she died from pulmonary edema and heart failure caused by cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959. In the final years of her life, she had been gradually tricked out of her earnings because of her drug and alcohol addictions. She died with seventy cents in the bank and seven-hundred fifty dollar tabloid fee. Billie Holiday Biography By Congregant 1 Billie Holiday (born Eleanor Harris (1915-1959) was an African American Jazz singer her 1939 recording.In Harlem she started singing in various night clubs. Holiday took her professional pen name from Billie Dove, an actress she admired, and the musician Clarence Holiday, thus was born Billie Holiday. The producer John Hammond arranged for Holiday to make her recording debut, at age 18, in November Riffing the Scotch. The latter being her first big hit. Son-in-Law sold 300 records, but Riffing the Scotch, sold 5,000 records. Hammond was very impressed by early 1959 Holiday found out that she had cirrhosis of the liver.

Perspectives on Friendship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Perspectives on Friendship - Essay Example From this report it is clear that  Mohammed and the author were playing in the yard when thay were suddenly attacked by a group of three boys who were members of a gang in school. They took our football and even threatened to beat them if they did not cooperate with them; the author remember how Mohammed was scared when the author confronted the three boys to leave them alone. The boys were very incensed that the author  had even dared to argue with them and vowed to make life very difficult for both of them but that did not scare me even an inch. the author was firm in my resolve to fight back and resist any challenge they would put us to, thus, the author did not move even an inch when one of the older boys advanced and looked him straight in the eye with his blood-shot piercing eyes.  This essay stresses that  Mohammed and the author have also found ourselves in trouble many times, especially with law enforcement officers for petty offenses like going to parties as minors with fake IDs and driving without licences. On many occasions, their parents have been informed of our offenses and they have subsequently been grounded for days; on his eighteenth birthday, for instance, Mohammed and the author were cruising in his father’s car when traffic officers caught up with him for over-speeding. Fortunately for them, his father was not very angry with him for taking his car and nearly crushing it by over-speeding but he gave them a comprehensive lecture on careful driving.

Internet Marketing Management Assignment about Breitling watches Essay

Internet Marketing Management Assignment about Breitling watches (httpwww.breitling.com) 3000 Words - Essay Example In1914 the founder passed away and son, Gaston, took over the company. Aeronautics had made spectacular developments after 1914. In the year 1923 Breitling developed the independent chronograph push piece with automatic start and return-to-zero functions. Significant progress was made in the aviation industry between 1923 and 1942. Breitling launched the chronomat, first of its kind chronograph fitted with circular slide rule. American armed forces also became the clients of Breitling Instruments. The aviation industry was growing with leaps and bounds. Jet aircrafts had been developed and the first International passenger jet flight had been launched. Breitling achieved a major mile stone in 1962 when Astronaut Scott Carpenter wore the COSMONAUTE during his orbital flight. Breitling reached a major mile stone in 1969 with the launch of self winding chronograph. In 1979 Ernest Schneider a Pilot, watch manufacturer took over the reigns of Breitling from Willy Breitling. Chronomat was launched in 1984 and it becomes the best selling chronograph in Breitling collection. The military aviation industry was growing with leaps and bounds. Aircrafts like Stealth bombers were being developed. In 1999 after completing 100 years in Chronograph making Breitling submits its entire collection to Swiss official chronometer testing institute. Breitling Products: Breitling manufactures and sells Chronographs onl... Apart from this they have very high end product which is the "Breitling for Bentley" collection. This collection focuses on high end customers who value tradition, performance and novelty value of the product being purchased. What is a chronograph A watch with two independent time systems: one indicates the time of day, and the other measures brief intervals of time. Counters registering seconds, minutes and even hours can be started and stopped as desired, thus enabling the exact timing of an event. Internet Marketing Strategies: While developing a marketing strategy, it is important to consider the environment in which the business functions. Porter (Kotler, 282) has identified five forces to determine profit attractiveness. These are: Competitors: Consider the web sites that offer the same products. New Entrants: Offsite competitors and new people in the business. Customers: The people visiting the site. Suppliers: Companies offering parts of products, web hosting software firms. Substitutes: Other media used for product promotion. Besides this, "SWOT" Analysis could also be used. Strength and weakness is dependent on the marketers internal environment Opportunity and Threats are dependent on the external environment. Strength: How is your product/service better than the competition Why should a customer feel delighted by using your product or service Weakness: What are the opportunity areas in your product /service and how they can be over-come Opportunity: The marketer should strike at the right opportunity and the right time and should target the right people (Customer). Threats: The Marketer should know exactly what are the hurdles in Marketing the product(Technology , Competitors) Internet Marketing strategy gives you a

Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken - Making Choices Along the Road of Life :: Road Not Taken essays

The Road Not Taken - Making Choices Along the Road of Life The Road Not Taken can be interpreted many different ways. Depending on the past, present and future attitude one has at the time he read it determines the way the poem may be interpreted. As the title indicates the central theme of this poem is choices. Most people agree that in the poem that Frost was expressing the belief that it is the road or path that one takes or chooses that makes him the man who he is today and will be tomorrow. Everyone is a traveler on lives roads. In the poem there is never just one road to take. Life is a struggle to make the decision of which road to take but a choice must be made. A traveler comes upon "two road deversised in a yellow wood" He is at a cross road point in his life. He is unable to take both paths at once and must make a decision which way he would like to go or how to live his life. He must decide but is remorseful as he states "And sorry I could not travel both". This decision is always difficult to make because it is impossible not to wonder at the cost of taking this path over that one. He can not help but wonder what he will miss if he chooses this road over that one .There is regret before the choice is ever made. He relaxes that in one lifetime it is impossible to travel down both roads and he has a difficult choice to make and is carefully considering his options as well as wondering were each could lead . In attempting to make this decision the traveler "looks down one as far as I could," trying to see the future and were this road might lead. Both roads lead to the unknown and although he tries to see as far as the road stretches he ca nnot see where it is going to lead. It is the way he chooses that sets him of on his journey of life and determines were he is going. He makes his decision and chooses "Then took the other just as far and having perhaps the better claim." This road has a better claim because it was the one that appealed more to him and "it was grassy and wanted wear.