HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

HR - Essay Example HR has immense value for a business. In fact, nothing in a business is as important as HR. The development, profitability, and success of a business fundamentally relies upon the ideas, concepts, and strategic management of the people involved in it. Poor management of one individual can ruin a business worth billions of dollars. Likewise, good leadership can make the business grow by leaps and bounds, and take it to the next level with every passing day. HR is the most valuable asset for any business. I have been having personal experience with the HR function of a business since I have been employed. I could experience the HR function right from my very first day at job. As I reached the office, I was led by the HR Manager to my room. The HR Manager made sure I was provided with a telephone, computer, and an Internet connection in my office. The HR Manager made me aware of my job responsibilities, and my daily, weekly, and monthly objectives. Since the HR Manager was helping me understand things and be facilitated in all ways, he was managing me. My experience with the HR function of my company has so far been both positive and negative at different points in time. For example, in the start, I was led by the HR Manager who explained me everything, and provided me with all the necessities for accommodation, which was surely a good experience. However, I was not paid until the third month of my service. In addition, I was not paid for the first fifteen days of my service since I had joined from the middle of month. This was a bad experience. In my judgment, the responsibility of HR Management in a business depends upon the size of a business and the extent to which it is developed. Small businesses usually have a General Manager (GM) who also performs the duties of an HR Manager along with his/her duties as a GM. However, large businesses have separate Human Resources Departments, with a proper

Freas and Geeks Media techniques Essay Example for Free

Freas and Geeks Media techniques Essay How Media Techniques Create Stereotypes in Freaks and Geeks Take a look again at high school stereotypes through the short lived television series from the late 90’s, Freaks and Geeks. Based on the pilot episode of Freaks and Geeks, media techniques are used effectively to depict the different stereotypes in high school. The camera shots movements are used adequately to show the power of the bullies and the weakness of the victims. For example, when Sam Weir is approached by Alan (the bully), at lunch, the camera is pointed upwards towards Alan’s face to make him seem bigger and scarier while the camera would be pointed down on Sam’s face making him seem smaller and inferior to Alan (Kasdan 1999). This example shows effective use of media techniques by using camera shots because the audience can easily depict the two different stereotypes, the bully and the geek. Another way that media techniques are used effectively is through the use of setting. For instance, the â€Å"freaks† of the show are shown hanging around the patio which is a dirty and worn down area separated from the field and other students (Kasdan 1999). This is a clear way for the audience to see the difference from the regular students and the â€Å"freaks† therefore making this media technique effective. These two techniques show how Freaks and Geeks uses media techniques effectively to illustrate the stereotypes one might see in high school. Using media techniques such as camera shots and setting effectively is a task that Freaks and Geeks has accomplished to portray different high school stereotypes.

Dells Just In Time Inventory Management system

Dells Just In Time Inventory Management system Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing is specific type of inventory production strategy that is used to improve a companys return on investment through a cutback of stock held. The primary goal of JIT is the achievement of zero inventory, not just with within the confines of a singe organisation but ultimately throughout the entire supply chain (Hutchins 1988). Many companies are making the transition into adopting JIT manufacturing; however it was the automotive industry sector that initially pioneered the principle. It was first developed by Toyota in the 1980s and it is now frequently used within the production of a diverse range of different goods. Nowadays companys inventories are shrinking to almost nothing mainly because of the large increase of JIT manufacturing. Dell is probably the most well known business that had implemented the lean manufacturing process. Therefore for the purpose of this report I am going to focus on how Dell the computer producer has integrated JIT, a parti cular type of inventory management into their firm. 2.1 Dell company analysis The Dell Computer Corporation is one of the leading sellers of PCs with its main rival being the Hewlett Packard Company. (Mintel 2009) claims that Dell is the the number two supplier worldwide. It is a very successful firm that has gained exceptional sales accomplishments because of its unique direct marketing model. They have had the right amount of resources within their business to develop an extremely successful inventory production model. As a result Dell has gained competitive edge and many rival computer companies are now starting to replicate Dell. However simply imitating Dells strategy without fully researching the management theory behind it is not an ideal approach for other firms to adopt. Most of the enterprises that have tried to do this have not succeeded, to much of a degree that Dell has. The competitive advantages of Dell over its competitors are that Dell has well thought out JIT inventory system and very good supplier integration. This has helped in cutting down inventory costs within the business and has also reduced the lead time in serving customer orders for computers and laptops. This had caused Dell to gain a very successful process improvement within their enterprise. 2.2 Dell JIT strategy It is quite clear that these JIT inventory systems have evolved over the years. (Helo 2004) states that JIT is believed to enhance productivity and build a leaner manufacturing system which minimises inventories. This is because Just-in-time makes production operations much more efficient compared with other methods of production, as it is a cost effective approach. Dell realised that this would be a excellent opportunity for their business processes before any other computer firms did and have therefore have cut their inventories from having 20 to 25 days of inventory to having no warehousesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and no more than two hours of inventory in its factories (Mishra 2009). By doing this Dell reached one of their main goals of constantly improving performance of their business. They also recognized that they could reduce expenditure by integrating and optimizing their computer manufacturing system. Overall such a system builds a leaner supply chain for Dell, so that their inventor ies are minimized. 2.3 Requirements for JIT manufacturing Establishing a JIT company like Dell requires commitment from every department and a lot of support from the companys strategic management team. A pull production method of work flow needs to be put into practice for JIT systems to be useful within Dell. The entire supply chain system is built around the flexibility and speed therefore customer demand is the factor that activates production of Dell computers. Normally this is fine within Dells business as they use the direct marketing model to sell their computers. However sometimes demand for computers can rapidly increase without any significant explanation. Dell has to have a contingency plan in place in case this happens unexpectedly. Even though inventory is low Dell still have the ability to stretch and push the factory processes to the capacity at times when demand succeeds supply. Table 1. Key Requirements for JIT Production (Lubben 1988) 1.High quality standards 2.Demand or pull scheduling 3.Level production schedules 4.Sufficient lead time (minimum setup time) to change to new products 5.Long term contract commitments from customers and with suppliers 6.Contiuous improvement of the production process 7.Minimum inventory in the manufacturing system 2.4 Advantages of Dell adopting a JIT system There are a wide range of benefits that JIT manufacturing can have on an enterprise. Firstly JIT appeals to a wide variety of businesses as it helps to prevent manufacturers from getting stuck with outdated or unusable inventory. Dell only has 2 hours worth of inventory in their manufacturing plants. This ensures that they are controlling their production of computers fully. In addition to this it has been found that JIT adoption has significant positive results on the financial figures of a business. Dell has achieved a cash conversion cycle from implementing JIT systems. This allows a healthy flow of money within their business, which will have an encouraging impact on their profitability. Another one of the many advantages to just-in-time manufacturing is the reduced cost. This is only achieved after the JIT systems has been in place for quite while, but it reduces capital tied up in stock, which allows a company like Dell to spend money on other areas of the business such as adve rtising and marketing. Just-in-time also has a much faster setup and saves resources by streamlining production systems. This as a result prevents overproduction of computers, which will therefore help Dell with the elimination of waste within their company. As a further point JIT systems also abolishes costs of warehouse space and storage facilities. This also allows Dell to inject cash into other parts of their enterprise and can also keep travel costs to a minimum. 2.5 Limitations of a company such as Dell implementing JIT manufacturing Just as JIT manufacturing has many strong points, there are some weaknesses as well. The Just-in-Time system may not suit every business, thorough research needed to be done by Dell to ensure such inventory management would work in the way they wanted it to, before they executed it. This would have been a very long process as they would have needed to weigh up the risks it could have on their business. In addition to this it is difficult and very expensive to introduce as there is possible large initial set up costs, which may put some businesses off. This did not put Dell off as they knew the long term benefits would mean that they would become more profitable if they introduce this method. They also found that it would allow them to gain continuous improvement within their business practices in the future, which could allow them to become the superior computer manufacturer over the Hewlett Packard Company who currently has the top spot in the industry. It is also true that JIT proc esses can become vulnerable to market demand fluctuations and unforeseen production interruptions. Again Dell had to look in depth into the buying patterns of their customer base, before investing in JIT systems within their firm. Conclusion Just in time manufacturing can have a positive influence on an enterprise such as Dell and by utilizing JIT systems they have gained a competitive edge against similar rivals in the computer industry. The direct selling model compliments their JIT systems which could in the future make them the worldwide leader in computer manufacturing. However as an important point inventory management systems do not appear to be consistent across all industries. Dell Computer Corporation must critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of implementing Just-in-time systems within their operations. Nevertheless Dell has done their research correctly and as a result JIT is rather successful within computer manufacturers. It is true that the computer industries do not have the experience of JIT systems that the automotive industry has, but it has successfully implemented JIT principles over the past 20 years and will continue to in the future. In addition to this implementing a new concept such as JIT systems requires a constant support from each and every aspect of the organization. It demands complete support from every department operating in the organisation. If a company like Dell accomplishes the implementation of JIT purchasing systems it can result in improved productivity. Despite JIT process it self is not complicated, the implementation stage is not easy to face at all. However it is possible the system can bring high levels of competitiveness to big companies such as Dell and they have proved this with their financial status in the market. The most important factor Dell has to remember, is that they have to sustain good working relationships with their suppliers for JIT to work within their organisation in the first place. For the reasons highlighted in the paper above I can come to the conclusion that Dell have successfully implemented JIT inventory management within their business processes and they are using continuous improvement within their company to mai ntain to be one the leading manufacturers of computers and software. References ALPHABETICALLY Helo (2004) Managing agility and productivity in the electronics industry Industrial Management Data Systems Hutchins (1988) Overview of JIT Just in Time Lubben (1988) Pull production system Just-in-time Manufacturing Mintel (2009) PCs and Laptops [online] Available at: http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/showHYPERLINK http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show/display/id=474522/display/id=475761#hit1HYPERLINK http://academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show/display/id=474522/display/id=475761#hit1/display/id=474522/display/id=475761#hit1 [Accessed 30 April 2010] Mishra (2009) Just-In-Time production: the Dell Way [online] Available at: http://penofaparanoid.blogspot.com/2009/06/just-in-time-production-dell-way_18.html [Accessed 30 April 2010] http://www.ehow.com/about_5099120_pro-just-time-inventory-system.html

The Republican Plan Should Not Be Vetoed :: Argumentative Persuasive Government Papers

The Republican Plan Should Not Be Vetoed The government of the United States has been the patriarch of the country. It has taken care of it's people for over two hundred years in times of war, recession and hundreds of other problems. But to solve these problems money had to spent sometimes in mass quantities. The World Wars not only made the US a world power but also a world bank. It has been since that time that the United States have begun it's trend towards deficit. After browsing through the Web I have a better understanding of what the deficit is, where it came from, and how it is being handled. It seems absurd that our country owes almost 5 trillion dollars. At the same time in economics we have learn the dollar value can sometimes be unimportant but the relative value that truely matters. If the whole world is in the same relative picture than the debt is not an enormous concern. As with any problem things should not be taken to either extreme at a given moment. To eliminate the debt would be a task no party could devise and in essence would be unimportant for the world economy. On the other hand money should not be spent like wild fire. Like everyone else in the country the government should spend their (our) money wisely. My opinion is that the Republican plan should not be vetoed. It needs to be instated to control the increase in the national debt and censor government spending. I do believe that the Republicans often look towards the wrong departments to make cuts in.

To Kill or Not to Kill

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL Student: Dave Cameron Professor: Robert Ashley Class: CAN271FA Law & The Citizen The first record of capital punishment in Canada is that of Peter Cartcel, a sailor who murdered Abraham Goodsides, a sailor from another ship, in 1749. Peter Cartcel was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by hanging. Capital punishment was first implemented in Canada in 1749 when it was under British rule as a British colony. The death penalty was not abolished in Canada until 1976.The last instance of Capital punishment was an execution that took place at Toronto’s Don Jail on December 11, 1962. Arthur Lucas, a man convicted of killing an FBI informant and Ronald Turpin, a petty thief who shot a policeman while fleeing a restaurant robbery, were the last two individuals to be hung in Canada. Over the course of the two centuries that Capital punishment was in use in Canada, 710 individuals were executed. Canada should not re-instate the death penalty for any offences due to the fact that the legal system is still not an exact science and many innocent individuals continue to be wrongfully accused of crimes.There are many disadvantages to Capital punishment and reinstating it would be an egregious error on our nation’s part and we would be taking a step backwards in terms of our civility and humanity. If Canada reinstates the death penalty, there is a possibility that many individuals will be executed for crimes they did not commit. While there are no known cases of wrongful executions in Canada, between the years of 1879 and 1960, 438 death sentences were commuted as a result of newfound evidence etc. Had those 438 death sentences not been commuted, it is possible that 438 innocent Canadian citizens would have been put to death.Despite the fact that there is no evidence of wrongful executions in Canada, there have been many cases of individuals who have been exonerated of their crimes years after they were execute d in other nations. One infamous case of wrongful execution occurred in the United States. Claude Jones, a United States citizen, was executed in the year 2000 for murdering liquor storeowner Allen Hilzendager in 1989. In 2007, a DNA test revealed that the strand of hair that was used by the prosecution to convict Claude Jones was actually a strand of hair belonging to the victim, proving Claude Jones’ innocence.Similar to Claude Jones’ proven innocence years after his execution, there have been many wrongful executions in other nations throughout the world. In the United Kingdom, Timothy Evans was found guilty of murdering his wife and daughter in 1950. The serial killer John Christie in fact committed the murders. The police coerced Timothy Evans into a false confession. The police also did not do a proper search of John Christie’s property and failed to find other human remains. Timothy Evans was granted a royal pardon in 1966, however an innocent life had be en needlessly taken.Capital punishment was abolished in the United Kingdom partly because of Timothy Evans wrongful execution. If Capital punishment did not exist in these nations, the lives of many innocent men and women would have been spared. Therefore, Capital punishment should not be reinstated in Canada because it is not worth the possibility that innocent Canadians will be put to death for crimes they did not commit. If an individual is wrongfully accused for a crime, incarcerated for life and are exonerated, they can be released and resume their former life. However, a wrongful execution cannot be undone or taken back, it is permanent.It has been proven throughout the history of modern of law, particularly throughout the history of English common law, which is the basis of the Canadian legal system in every province in Canada except for Quebec, a province where they practice Civil law, that 50% of eyewitness testimony is false. Eyewitness testimony is the most influential de ciding factor for a Jury during trial and 95-100% of crimes that carry Capital punishment are trails with a Jury. Therefore, there is a very high risk that innocent individuals will be put in jail and sentenced to Capital punishment based on a Jury swayed by false eyewitness testimony.Capital punishment has been used by nearly all nations throughout the world at one point in history. The use of Capital punishment as part of the justice system began with recorded history and it has made many changes and advances over the millennia that it has been in use. To its credit, there have been many movements towards more humane forms of execution, especially throughout the last century. Prisoners are no longer being boiled to death, crucified or impaled, however execution as a form of punishment is still seen as a gruesome act by many countries, including Canada.The more humane forms of execution that have been invented and implemented in modern jails include the electric chair, the gas cham ber and lethal injection. These forms of â€Å"humane† execution are used in the United States where Capital punishment is legal. Many societies with Capital punishment ascribe to the Biblical Old Testament form of law, the idea of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, where a person who has harmed another should be similarly harmed in retribution. However, if you take an eye for an eye every time someone is wronged, the whole world will go blind.Another disadvantage to Capital punishment is that one of the purposes of jails in modern society is to rehabilitate inmates. Jails do not only exist to protect society from criminals that can harm the innocent, they also have the intention of rehabilitating inmates so that they can rejoin society as healthy, functioning members who can contribute in a meaningful way. There are many different types of rehabilitation programs established in Canadian prisons. One important rehabilitation program gives inmates access to educational services that they did not receive prior to their incarceration for various socio-economic reasons.These educational services allow inmates, who are often lacking basic education, to become literate, receive their General Education Development diploma, participate in vocational education programs, earn College diplomas and earn University degrees. One of the leading causes of crime is poverty, which is often caused by a cycle of illiteracy and a lack of education. Inmates should be given a chance to be educated while serving their sentence so that they can be rehabilitated into society, rather than being executed. When Capital punishment is in place in a nation, no societal progress can be made.Thousands of lives are taken and no change is made, the cycle of crime continues. Another leading cause of crime is drug and alcohol abuse. Many individuals resort to crime to support their expensive drug and alcohol habits and the majority have not received drug treatment prior to their inc arceration. Another important rehabilitation program in Canadian prisons is the drug treatment program. Studies have shown that inmates who are required to participate in drug rehabilitation programs combined with therapy show positive results. The purpose of jails is to not only punish criminals, but to rehabilitate them into society.Inmates need to be given a chance to receive the rehabilitation they need, such as drug and alcohol treatment and an education before their lives are taken away. The solution to crime in our society is not Capital punishment. It is finding the source and the root of the crime, such as poverty, lack of education and drug and alcohol abuse and solving these problems and rehabilitating these individuals. Once inmates are successfully rehabilitated the level of crime will greatly diminish and no lives need to be taken in the form of Capital punishment.There are numerous disadvantages to reinstating Capital punishment in Canada, however one of the advantage s to Capital punishment is it costs less money to execute a prisoner than to house them for life. In Canada, rather than receiving the death penalty for crimes such as murder, individuals receive 25 years in prison without the possibility of parole for the duration of those 25 years. It is possible that these individuals will remain in prison for the rest of their lives. If the crime is particularly heinous, the prisoner is designated a dangerous offender.This makes the possibility of parole much more difficult to obtain. Prisoners can also be designated long-term offenders. This is less serious than being designated a dangerous offender, however it is still difficult to receive parole. The designation of dangerous offender and long-term offender are made after individuals are convicted. The prisoners only given these designations once they have received a fair trail. Prisoners such as long-term offenders and dangerous offenders who remain in jail for 25 or more years cost Canadian tax payers and the Government an enormous amount of money.One advantage to Capital punishment is it’s financial benefit to the nations that implement it. The annual cost of housing an inmate in Canada can range between $52,000 to $250,000 a year depending on level of security of the facility in which the inmate is being held. Multiply that figure by the 25 years an inmate serves when sentenced to life in prison instead of receiving Capital punishment and the housing of an inmate for life in Canada ranges from $1,300,000 to $6,250,000. It is Canadian taxpayers who pay for the housing of inmates through the Government.However, the financial benefit of killing individuals instead of housing them for life is not worth potentially killing the innocent. There are many advantages and disadvantages to Capital punishment, however it should not be reinstated in Canada. The disadvantages far outweigh the advantages and it is simply not worth the possibility of potentially killing innoce nt individuals just to save the taxpayers and the Government money. Works Cited List Jobb, Dean. Bluenose Justice: True Tales of Mischief, Mayhem and Murder. â€Å"First Blood. † (Hantsport, N. S. : Lancelot Press, 1996), pages: 135-40.Napolitano, Angelina. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. University of Toronto. 2011. http://www. biographi. ca/index-e. html. Web. 9 Jul. 2012. American Psychological Association. â€Å"Inmate Drug Abuse Treatment Slows Prison’s Revolving Door. † American Psychological Association. 2004. http://www. apa. org/research/action/aftercare. aspx. Web. 10 Jul. 2012. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. â€Å"Doing The Crime And Doing The Time. † Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2012. http://www. cbc. ca/canadavotes 2006/realitycheck/crimetime. html. Web. 10 Jul. 2012. Center on Wrongful Convictions. Claude Jones. † Northwestern University School of Law. 2006. http://www. law. northwestern. edu/cwc/issues/wrongfulexecu tions/ txjonescsummary. html. Web. 9 Jul. 2012. Correctional Service Canada. â€Å"Staff Development and the Formation of Curriculum in Prison Education. † Correctional Service Canada. 2012. http://www. csc-scc. gc. ca/text/pblct/forum/e031/e031l-eng. shtml. Web. 10 Jul. 2012. Crime Museum. â€Å"Wrongful Execution. † National Museum of Crime and Punishment. 2008. http://www. crimemuseum. org/library/execution/wrongfulExecution. html. Web. 9 Jul. 2012. Michael Bromby.Glasgow Caledonian University. â€Å"An Examination of Criminal Jury Directions in Relation to Eyewitness Identification in Commonwealth Jurisdictions. † Glasgow Caledonian University. http://gcal. academia. edu/Michael Bromby/Papers/9952/An_Examination_of_Criminal_Jury_Directions_in_Relation_to_Eyewitness_Identification_in_Commonwealth_Jurisdictions. Web. 10 Jul. 2012. Steven Duke. Yale Law School. â€Å"Eyewitness Testimony Doesn’t Make It True. † Yale Law School. 2006. http://www. l aw. yale. edu/news/2727. htm. Web. 10 Jul. 2012. ——————————————– [ 1 ].Dean Jobb, â€Å"First Blood,† in Bluenose Justice: True Tales of Mischief, Mayhem and Murder (Hantsport, N. S. : Lancelot Press, 1996), pages: 135-40. [ 2 ]. Dean Jobb, â€Å"First Blood,† in Bluenose Justice: True Tales of Mischief, Mayhem and Murder (Hantsport, N. S. : Lancelot Press, 1996), pages: 135-40. [ 3 ]. Angelina Napolitano. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. http://www. biographi. ca/index-e. html. Date of access, July 9, 2012. [ 4 ]. Angelina Napolitano. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: http://www. biographi. ca/index-e. html. Date of access, July 9, 2012. [ 5 ].Angelina Napolitano. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: http://www. biographi. ca/index-e. html. Date of access, July 9, 2012. [ 6 ]. Angelina Napolitano. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: http://w ww. biographi. ca/index-e. html. Date of access, July 9, 2012. [ 7 ]. Angelina Napolitano. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: http://www. biographi. ca/index-e. html. Date of access, July 9, 2012. [ 8 ]. Claude Jones, Center on Wrongful Convictions. http://www. law. northwestern. edu/cwc/issues/wrongfulexecutions/txjonescsummary. html. Date of access, July 9, 2012. 9 ]. Claude Jones, Center on Wrongful Convictions. http://www. law. northwestern. edu/cwc/issues/wrongfulexecutions/txjonescsummary. html. Date of access, July 9, 2012. [ 10 ]. Crime Museum. http://www. crimemuseum. org/library/execution/wrongfulExecution. html. Date of access, July 9, 2012. [ 11 ]. Crime Museum. http://www. crimemuseum. org/library/execution/wrongfulExecution. html. Date of access, July 9, 2012. [ 12 ]. Crime Museum. http://www. crimemuseum. org/library/execution/wrongfulExecution. html. Date of access, July 9, 2012. [ 13 ]. Crime Museum.

Poetry and the Marriage of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes Essay

In the introduction of her book Her Husband: Hughes and Plath – a Marriage (2003), Diane Wood Middlebrook wrote that â€Å"poetry had brought Hughes and Plath together, and poetry had kept them together† (Middlebrook, n. pag.). Indeed, the marriage of poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes is best described as a union of two talented but volatile personalities who both competed with and complemented one another through poetry. But this observation was often ignored due to the overly simplistic accounts of their marriage, especially those that focused on the period shortly before and after Plath’s death. Hughes is almost always depicted in these explanations as a philandering womanizer, while Plath is shown as a clingy and overly paranoid wife (St. Clair, n. pag.). The life of Sylvia Plath has often been presented as the struggle of a brilliant mind against madness. Plath was an excellent student, graduating summa cum laude from Smith College in 1955 and obtaining a Fulbright scholarship to Cambridge University shortly afterwards. A gifted writer, she published her poems in magazines and won literary awards since her teenage years. However, these accomplishments were overshadowed by her battle with mental illness (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). Plath began to experience episodes of depression, insomnia and suicidal thoughts during her youth, all of which were possibly triggered by her father’s demise when she was only eight years old. In her junior year in college in 1953, Plath tried to kill herself by hiding under her house and overdosing on sleeping pills. She was afterwards confined in a mental institution for six months, where she was subjected to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Plath’s later writings made a constant reference to her experiences with this treatment (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). Plath made a temporary recovery in January 1954, allowing her to graduate from college and pursue further studies in England. While in Cambridge, she met Ted Hughes. Despite warnings from friends about his fickleness in relationships, Hughes and Plath fell in love with each other and got married in 1956 (Neurotic Poets, n. pag.). Their first child, Frieda, was born in 1960, followed by Nicholas in 1962 (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). At first, Plath and Hughes enjoyed a happy marriage. Theirs was a relationship that was â€Å"fueled by their joint passion for poetry† (John-Steiner, 136). For Plath, Hughes was not just a husband – he was a father figure who can fill the void caused by the premature death of her real father. She revealed this sentiment in an undated letter to her mother, Aurelia: We read, we discuss poems we discover, talk, analyze – we continually fascinate each other. It is heaven to have someone like Ted who is so kind and honest and brilliant always stimulating me to think, draw and write. He is better than any teacher, he even fills somehow that huge, sad hole I felt in having no father. (137) As a result, Plath idolized her husband completely. She had so much faith in his ability as a poet that she worked very hard to have his poetry published in English and American magazines. But according to Vera John-Steiner’s book Creative Collaboration (2000), Hughes’ feelings towards his wife’s efforts was not established (John-Steiner, 137). Unfortunately, later accounts of their marriage implied that Hughes was suffocated with Plath’s excessive clinginess. His sister Olwyn recalled that â€Å"he could not go on the simplest of errands without her grabbing a coat and running after him† (John-Steiner, 137). Consequently, Plath and Hughes fought often and the latter had an extramarital affair with a married woman named Assia Wevill (Neurotic Poets, n. pag.). He eventually left her for Wevill in 1962 (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). Plath described the stormy condition of their marriage before their separation in her poems Words heard, by Accident over the Phone, Poppies in July and Burning the Letters (Neurotic Poets, n. pag.). Plath and her children moved to London in December 1962. She wrote poetry at a feverish pace during this period, with an output of more than 25 poems. What made these poems – which included A Secret, The Applicant and Daddy – noteworthy was that they contained Plath’s brutally honest opinions about her marriage and her father’s passing. In January 1963, her semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar was published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas (Neurotic Poets, n. pag.). Despite these literary accomplishments, Plath’s depression worsened. She killed herself in the early morning of February 11, 1963 by putting her head inside a gas oven (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). It would be fair to say that Plath and Hughes used poetry to asses the effects of their tempestuous marriage on themselves. The Applicant, for instance, revealed Plath’s anger over what marriage does to a woman: But in twenty-five years she’ll be silver, In fifty, gold. A living doll, everywhere you look. It can sew, it can cook, It can talk, talk, talk. (n. pag.) For Plath, marriage and or domestic relationships condemned a woman to a â€Å"living death† (Dobbs, 11). When a woman marries, her â€Å"worth† will be based on how well she takes care of her family. In effect, she is almost similar to a dead person because her identity as an individual is replaced with that of a wife and a mother. The Applicant was probably based on Plath’s dilemma as to whether she should still pursue careers in the academe and in writing even if she was already married or just resign herself to being a full-time housewife. Letters to and the remembrances of friends and family members revealed this conflict. Although Plath was able to maintain a balance between work and family life, she resented her family for making demands that drained her creativity. But at the same time, she felt guilty for harboring such bitterness – her husband left her for another woman probably because she didn’t spend enough time on him. It must be noted that one constant source of their disagreements was that Hughes wanted Plath to stop working and take care of their children instead (Dobbs, 13). Words heard, by Accident over the Phone, meanwhile, is an account of Hughes’ affair with Wevill: Speak, speak! Who is it? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ O god, how shall I ever clean the phone table? They are pressing out of the many-holed earpiece, they are looking for a listener. Is he there? (n. pag.) According to some accounts, there was an instance when Plath heard the phone in their house ringing as she returned from a morning outing with her mother. When she answered it, it was Wevill, trying to disguise her voice. After Hughes finished talking to Wevill, Plath was so upset that she unplugged the phone wire from its socket. It was only during that incident that Plath realized that her husband was having an affair (NeuroticPoets, n. pag.). Burning the Letters showed Plath’s rage over the said discovery: I made a fire; being tired Of the white fists of old Letters and their death rattle When I came too close to the wastebasket What did they know that I didn’t? Love, love, and well, I was tired (n. pag.) Plath was said to be so upset over Hughes’ affair with Wevill that she tore up and threw into the fire the manuscript of the novel that she had been working on (the sequel to The Bell Jar). She also burned all the letters that received from her mother, as well as Hughes’ letters and drafts of poems (NeuroticPoets, n. pag.). Hughes has often been blamed for Plath’s death. This was fueled largely by the women’s movement of the 1970s, which strongly identified itself with her life and poetry. For decades, Hughes kept silent regarding his former wife’s passing. But in 1998, he published Birthday Letters, a collection of his poems that focused on his relationship with Plath and her sad fate. Hughes implied in most of his poems that one of the reasons for the failure of his marriage to Plath was their incompatibilities in terms of personal success. Being the daughter of educators, Plath grew up adhering to conventional standards of achievement. Accounts of her life gave the impression that she wanted nothing more but to establish herself both in writing and in teaching. Hughes, on the other hand, felt suffocated at the idea of a tenured academic job (Rees, n. pag.). Hughes echoed this sentiment in The Blue Flannel Suit. This poem mockingly described Plath’s nervousness during her first day as an English lecturer in her alma mater. In order to project the respectable image of an academic, she wore a badly-tailored suit that she made by herself. Looking back at this incident, he wrote: That blue suit, A mad, execution uniform, Survived your sentence. (n. pag.) But in A Picture of Otto, Hughes lamented that he and Plath separated primarily because he was not able to take the place of her father, Otto, in her life. For him, Otto was inseparable from my shadow As long as your daughter’s words can stir a candle. She could hardly tell us apart in the end. (458) In the end, Hughes finally accepted that Plath will always be her father’s daughter: you never could have released her. I was a whole myth too late to replace you. This underworld, my friend, is her heart’s home. Inseparable, here we must remain. (459) Human relationships are too complex for their failure to be attributed to just one person. While Hughes may have his faults, Plath was already a disturbed character even before their marriage. Their poetry was just a reflection of a couple, who, despite their fame, underwent the travails of any other failed marriage. Hence, the works of Hughes and Plath should not be used as additional fodder to continue a battle of the sexes that was blown out of proportion.