Integration, to me, is combining and blending multiple elements or parts into a new whole. Moti Nissani provides an excellent example of integration and interdisciplinary studies by comparing them to a “smoothie”. The smoothie is “finely blended so that the distinctive flavors of each [fruit] is no longer recognizable, yielding instead the delectable experience of the smoothie” (Repko, 2008). After reading this metaphor, I realized that I make figurative “smoothies” every day. I constantly integrate various ideas, pieces of knowledge and methods to solve complex personal, professional and academic problems.
For example, when I worked as a spa front desk agent, I continuously tackled the problem of filling “white space”, or openings in our schedule due to un-booked spa appointments. I had to thoroughly integrate my areas of focus and minor to solve this persistent problem. I used customer service skills from hospitality management, behavioral analysis from the behavioral sciences and teaching skills from education to convince guests that their wants and needs would be fulfilled by booking a spa service. The result of this integration was booked appointments, spa revenue and satisfied guests. My areas of focus and minor integrate quite well with one another and have been helpful in my job at the Ritz-Carlton as well as many other aspects of my life.
Now it’s your turn. Please reply to the following questions. Feel free to comment on my post as well. I look forward to conversing with you throughout the week. Happy blogging! -Jennifer Hickel
What is integration? What are examples?
How have or haven't you integrated your areas and minor?
Why is integration of areas/minor important in terms of professional, academic, and/or personal developing?
How can your areas/minor be better integrated?
To me a great example of integration is the the prefect salad. A salad can be made in many different ways with many different ingredients, to provide the perfect taste for any individual. Each ingredient brings its own taste to the mix, making it prefect. In explanation, different specific ideas can create a perfect mix to solve a problem or draw a conclusion. Each idea has its purpose and contribution and are chosen for a reason.
ReplyDeleteFor a work example, when running summer camps its take a lot of thought, patients, and knowledge to create a great camp. Meal plans, activity plans, booking, room arrangements, financial arrangements, equipment, proper trainers and employees, safety plans, and much more are parts or one single event. There are many well respected skills involved. I'm sure my studies will help me further my understanding in running many aspects of my life and work in the best way.
Dictionary.com defines integration as (1) an act or instance of combing into an integral whole. It’s like taking the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) and mixing them together to make new colors (orange, purple, and green etc.). We can paint a picture using primary colors, but that would limit us on what we can do. If I mix the colors and experiment I can come up with a wide variety of colors and shades making my painting more complete.
ReplyDeleteMy two areas are Behavior/Social Science and Public affairs and my minor is Leadership studies. While I am just starting (this is just my second semester) and haven’t taken classes towards my minor as of yet, so I’m not sure on how to integrate it just yet. With that being said, since it’s in leadership I think it should be easy to incorporate it into anything. Every profession needs someone with leadership skills.
Integrating the areas are good for all areas of your life, gives us a more broad perspective. Professionally it will give us wide range of ideas to pull from when trying to solve a complex problem. Academically it will give us more of a field of study; personally it will give us a better perspective on daily problems.
I’m not sure how it can be better integrated at this point; but perhaps through the advising office there is something more they can do. Perhaps when going into interdisciplinary studies the college could combine popular areas and make it a “track” to follow.
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ReplyDeleteIntegration is combining different areas or concepts in order to better understand a particular area of study. An example could be an Occupational Therapist, because physical and cognitive skills are integrated. Since I want to be an Occupational Therapist I have integrated my major and minor to suit the requirements I need to be a good therapist.
ReplyDeleteThe integration of my areas and minor are important because as a therapist I will need to understand the physical and mental capabilities of my patients. I think my areas and minor are already well integrated and that there isn't much I can do to better them.
When I think of the word "integrate" it makes me think of making a protein shake - combining different things to make a uniquely flavored drink. The things combined have to be able to go together though. You can't just mix anything. For example, I would like to be a content developer/writer for video games. My love and knowledge of literature and humanities allows me the freedom to generate creative ideas based on my likes, and be able to combine that with digital media (my minor). I wouldn't be able to combine those with something like sports therapy or psychology in order to better my pursuit of my desired field, as anything other than an arts-related field would be irrelevant.
ReplyDelete@Jazmin if you don't mind me asking - what are your areas and minor?
ReplyDeleteIntegration is the process of combining different parts so that they can work together or form a whole. An example would be a triathlon. Someone who wants to participate in this would have to work on three different areas such as running, swimming, and biking. When the triathlon comes, strengthening each of these areas will have paid off and increased the participants results. My 2 areas of study are biological sciences and psychology. My minor is health sciences. So far I have just integrated my areas and minor by filling some of the requirements. I have not integrated them in a job yet. Integration of areas/minor are important in all aspects. Professionally, it will help us to solve problems and do a better job in the work field. Academically, it will allow us to use knowledge from one area to help us in another. Personally, it will help us in everyday life. I'm not really sure how my areas/minor could be better integrated. Maybe if there was a list of common jobs people get with certain areas/minor.
ReplyDelete-Josh Ember
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ReplyDeleteIntegration is combining 2 or more things together to create something new. The example I used in class discussion was that of an orchestra. Later, while reading our text, I saw that that was the number one response given in a poll, so I guess it wasn't too original. Or maybe it's just very obvious.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm a Mechanical Engineer by profession, I have, on occasion, integrated my chemistry schooling into it, but my minor is cultural anthropology and you wouldn't think that would be very useful to an Engineer. However, in today's world, where Ethics and Diversity are a huge concern, especially in a large company that does business world wide, my minor has taught me to be open minded about the dress, religious beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, etc. of the employees I work with and supervise.
I believe my areas of study will truly be put to the test in a few years when I retire. Since I'd like to focus on Florida's past cultures, history and environment, to better understand ways to protect some of our fragile eco systems from irresponsible development and excessive growth, I think my engineering and chemisty will be very useful.
Debra Tanner
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your blog about how integration is comparable to that of a fruit smoothie. You take different parts that are whole (the fruit) and blend them together to make something new and wonderful from it. Integration is simply that. Taking things that are whole and blending them together with other parts that are whole to make something new. An example would be in the IS major we take different disciplines and integrate them. This allows one to solve issues from more than just one point of view.
My major areas of study, as well as my minor somewhat complement each other. My two majors are education and humanities. These two majors complement each other because they go hand in hand. My minor is business which is a little different combining education, humanities, and business, but all three are practical in today's world and are all interests of mine.
Integration of areas/minor is important in terms of professional, academic, and/or personal developing because we have to take our fields of study that interest us and use the knowledge that we have from each discipline in order to accomplish tasks in today's professional, academic, and personal world. Problems are better solved by looking at them from more than one point of view, instead of focusing on one imparticular way to solve the problem.
My areas of focus I believe are pretty well integrated. I feel that humanities and education are more integrated, and that business is kind of 'by itself', but business and education could also be integrated as well.
@Josh - I like how you use the triathlon. Each one transitions into the next. I think you have chosen areas that will be easily integrated together.
ReplyDeleteI loved the comparisons you all used to describe what integration means to each one of you, such as a triathlon or a salad. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteJust a couple of questions, though...
What kinds of professions do you see yourselves going into with your degrees? And also, do you believe that by integrating your areas and minors it will give you an advantage over others for that specific profession?
Thank you everyone for your contributions to this blog and your different examples of integration.
ReplyDeleteJust as a reminder, disciplines do not have to fit naturally, easily or perfectly together in order to be integrated. "Disciplinary insights pertaining to a particular problem or object fit to varying degrees" (Repko, pg. 117). Through the integration process, you will learn to understand the perspectives of each discipline and how to create common ground between them in order to solve the problem at hand.
Integration is combining two or more things into one a whole.
ReplyDeleteI have integrated my minor with one of my majors. Marketing and Sports Business Management go perfect together because marketing is key in any sports business. Integration is important because it allows you to be able to get more done by yourself and not have to rely on somebody else.
I feel like my areas could be better integrated if I changed my other area to Communication instead of Education.
@Alexandria - I like the way you have combined Marketing and Sports business and I think that education still goes with it. I guess it is just what you are looking to accomplish (say teaching a sport)
ReplyDelete@Cassie - its hard to say if it will give us an advantage. Since IS is still not well known, I don't think to employers it is a selling point. However, if we educate them on it, then perhaps it will make a difference. It would be something we would have to be able to "sell" once we get the interview.
ReplyDeleteI personally am still not 100% sure of what I am looking for as a career. I received a "suggestion" from an advisor when I first started thinking about transfering; they suggested IS because I have a lot of credit hours. It was to my advantage because it used more of credit hours I had already earned. I am more focused right now on the certificate I am working on for Behavioral Forensics than anything else.
@Robin-Yes, IS is still unknown to many people but I think once you get that interview and do "sell" them on how an IS degree entails 3 areas of study instead of just a traditional 1 subject degree, they will see how much more useful you could be to their company. And don't feel pressured or anything about not being 100% sure about what career you want to obtain because after 6 years in college I still am not 100% sure as to what I want to do as a career. I just know that my IS degree will give me many more options when I am searching for the right career because of the different areas it encompasses.
ReplyDeleteStephany, I like how you compared integration to a salad. You can put many different ingredients in a salad to make one that you like. I also agree with your work example. I work outside at a summer camp so I know exactly what you mean.
ReplyDeleteRobin, I'm in my junior year and I'm still not exactly sure how to integrate all of my areas of study, but you're just starting so you'll be fine. You have plenty of time to figure that out. I agree with you that integrating your areas is important in all aspects of your life.
-Josh Ember
@Cassie & Josh - I feel better that I'm not the only one that hasn't decided on an exact path. I have a job interview Thursday with DOC as an intern, so maybe that will give me some direction too.
ReplyDelete@Simons, Heidi I think you're going to discover that your Humanities focus integrates equally well with your business degree as you already feel it does with education. Only time will tell but I'd love to hear what you have to say in 15 or 20 years.
ReplyDelete-Deb Tanner
@Ember, Josh I suspect your 3 areas of study will integrate really well together. Those 3 could give you a chance at a great career in the health industry or with the HR department of a successful company. You might decide you really like one area more than the other 2 and get a master's in that focus. The door is wide open for you right now. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteDeb Tanner
@Robin. My areas are Life/Biomedical Sciences and Behavioral. My minor is in Health Science.
ReplyDelete@Alexandria. Have you thought about changing one of your areas to Health Science. I think it's great that you want to work in sport business. Taking some courses in the Health Science department can really broaden your knowledge about sports and the human body. :)
ReplyDeleteIntegration is the successful combination of disciplines. Like your smoothie concept, for one of our “Talking Points” discussions I described integration as macaroni and cheese. I also thought that integration was mixing concepts to create a new whole, and I mentioned that the ingredients weren’t the same looking as they were individually. I have integrated my areas to problem solve, but I know that I will do so more once I begin my profession. My areas are Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. I know that these two areas go hand in hand. I can use my psychology background to aid in presentations for my classes, which is essentially teaching. If I do become a teacher at some point I know I will successfully affect my students because not only will I be helping them to learn, but I will use my behavioral and social sciences area to identify specific students that may need extra attention. Truthfully, I think that integration of my areas/minor is essential in terms of professional, academic, and personal developing. I don’t think that anyone should be one sided when problem solving; you always have to pull from all different areas in your brain to successfully overcome a problem.
ReplyDeleteLeah Masson
@Stephany- What exactly are your areas and minor?
ReplyDelete@Charles- Your areas and minor seem to really work with one another. What are you interested in doing once you graduate?
ReplyDelete@jazmin,wow those sound like really intense subjects.
ReplyDelete@Deb Tanner...I hope I will find that humanities and business integrate. I'm sure they do, it's just hard to place them together because they are so different, however, I'm sure both will be useful throughout my life! :)
ReplyDelete@Leah Masson, sounds like your disciplines go hand in hand. I have a friend that got her degree in psychology (which i know is a little different than what you are doing, but still is a behavioral science) and she is now teaching high school kids with autism. Those classes you are taking will definately help you in the educational field! Good luck! :)
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, fast food restaurants immediately came to mind when I thought of integration. The ultimate of course being McDonald's (ugh, disgusting I know.) But the reason why I thought of them is because of all the different components it took to make it a successful chain. First it was the hamburgers, then the milkshake machine, and pretty soon the french fries, each of those things becoming just as equally important as the other and then refining the process of how each was made enough to duplicate it, turning that duplication into a brand then of course mass distributing that brand precisely in each new franchise. Without the integration of the hamburger, the fries and the milkshake (to start) the brand would have never lasted, but its with all of these components being integrated and the very precise and distinct recipe of each that make the brand a success.
ReplyDeleteIt's extremely easy to integrate my areas of study, which is exactly why I choose them. Each supports another branch of the other. First and foremost, writing is the very backbone of public relations. It is involved in every act of PR whether it be writing a speech, a press release or blogging for your client. I like to think of PR and marketing as being part of the communications "umbrella." In many scholarly discussions of communications it is believed that all the aforementioned fields are eventually going to be combined into one discipline called "integrated communications."
In my profession we actually have a term we use to describe how we integrate our projects or different things we're working on and it's called cross-promotion. An example of this might involve the creation of a blog with a semi-famous bartender specializing in tequila for a restaurant who is a client. In a post for this blog, i might insert a link to a specific brand of tequila I'm working with as well. Of course, this would be an example of integrating the writing in my major with the marketing. The ability to create these type of cross-promotional opportunities is not just important in PR, it's essential.
Integration is a the combination of elements to create a cohesive final product. I used to comparison of making music to describe it. Music is made using different tracks. Each track is designated for a specific noise. Vocals, miscellaneous vocals, and various instruments all lie on separate tracks than mixed down to one. The mixing process is the integration of separate sounds into one piece of unified music.
ReplyDeleteI have integrated my areas and minor depending on what route I choose to go. If I become a teacher I will use my Behavioral Social Sciences focus to get a better understanding of my students. If I decide to work in Communications, I will use both my Education and Social Sciences focuses to work better with fellow employees.
The integration of the areas and minor are extremely important in terms of professional, academic, or personal developing because it helps you see the big picture. There is more than one side to any story and this gives us many aspects and angles to view it from.
My areas can be better integrated if I decided to choose a set path for my career. Currently, I do not have a career chosen for myself so I am not very firm on the exact integration of my areas.