This characteristic is the ability to not only empathize with others, but also take action on the lessons learned and completely redefine one's views of a problem or situation. An example of this is a recent project completed with an Indian subsidiary of the company I work for. The Indian subsidiary is heavily rewarded for beating deadlines and using the Six Sigma quality management model. Inherent in my role within the company is to participate in group projects and also contribute to their overall success by often supporting other team members and their needs as well. This characteristic of group participation is defined as the ability to communicate and collaborate to attain a shared and often challenging goal or objective (Merdin, 105-107). The final characteristic I have a strength with is ethical sensitivity. This is defined as the ability to use insight and judgment in completing projects and making decisions with regard to actions and strategies (Garman, Leach, Spector, 832, 833). An example of this was a decision I made to not falsify the claims on a website used in China to promote the products my company sells, despite pressure from company managers to do so. The claims was small, a battery life figure that was double the actual life level. I stood my ground and wrote the truth. Characteristics Not Discovered, Not Evident at the Present Time

The following characteristics are either latent, not discovered through experiences yet, and in some cases are dictated by the point in my career in terms of responsibility. The ability to evaluate alternatives, or the ability to consider and weigh options of decisions, is an area that needs more development in my life. I think that over time with more experience I will get better at this, yet today I still need guidance in evaluating all alternatives. The second characteristic is to define a course of action and decide quickly on the best possible strategy to complete it. This is defined as the ability to consider a series of options successfully and take the best possible course of action (Rao, Anis, et al., 189, 190). Two additional characteristics that need improvement include oral and written...

These are self-explanatory in nature. it's been my experience that these two characteristics are in need of continual improvement over time; there is no finished line in the improving of written and spoken communication. I have had multiple situations occur that illustrate this point, and underscore the lessons learned with regard to communicating with greater focus and clarity. The need for communicating accurately and completely pervades all effective progress and achievement in professional roles, and often interdisciplinary studies enable greater levels of performance on this dimension (Merdin, 105, 106). The final area that I need to improve is the ability to take constructive criticism from others. This is the ability to sense and respond to someone's comments in a positive manner; and also seek to improve based on their assessments. I have found this difficult at times due to the pressure I put on myself to excel in my role in the company.
Conclusion

For interdisciplinary majors, the orientation needs to be on the strategic aspects of management and the ability to see diverse, often conflicting yet valuable insights into complex situations (Ahamer, 23, 24). The need for creating a highly effective framework that can be relied on for making sound ethical, financial and operational decisions is critical for personal development. This assessment of the fourteen interdisciplinary study areas is invaluable and finding the areas of existing strength and also defining strategies to address weakness and transform them over time into strengths as well.

Works Cited

Ahamer, Gilbert. "Training to Bridge Multicultural Geographies of Perspectives." Campus - Wide Information Systems 29.1 (2012): 21-44..

Garman, Andrew N., David C. Leach, and Nancy Spector. "Worldviews in Collision: Conflict and Collaboration Across Professional Lines." Journal of Organizational Behavior 27.7 (2006): 829-.

Merdin, Ezgi. "Self - Marketing for Graduates and Professionals as a Strategic Career Management Tool." The Business Review, Cambridge 19.1 (2011): 104-9.

Rao, Atif Anis, et…