STRATEGIC SYNERGY OF SERVICE OFFERINGS WITHIN A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has traditionally been structured based upon a firm concentrating on select markets and specific service offerings. More recently, however, the industry has moved away from the piece by piece process of developing a project into a more holistic view. This paper suggests the concept that holistic strategies can create positive business synergies. Two types of synergies are identified-synergies related to practice and knowledge and synergies related to service and delivery. Examples of these synergies are provided with cases provided for engineering, architecture, and management firms. The increase in strength of the firm as a result of the strategy is more than the net additive growth or change; hence, it is deemed synergistic. Conclusions identify the synergies outcomes and discuss the need for future research in this area, particularly data-based research to test the theory.

UC Berkeley's Undocumented Student Program: Holistic Strategies for Undocumented Student Equitable Success Across Higher Education

In this essay, Ruben Elias Canedo Sanchez and Meng L. So share the history and development of the Undocumented Student Program at the University of California, Berkeley. In describing the creation of the program, the authors offer reflections on the strategies employed to holistically support undocumented students' success on campus. By drawing on their experiences as both students and program leaders, they highlight key lessons on how universities can garner institutional resources, build staff capacity, and develop nontraditional allies for undocumented students.