The Mission And Vision Of British Airways Business Essay

The Mission And Vision Of British Airways Business Essay British Airways is one of the oldest and the most reputed airlines functioning in the world. It was started on 1st September in the year 1974. It is the official airline of the United Kingdom. It is owned by the government of the United Kingdom but it is run by private firms. It is also known as BA. It was formed by the merger of four airlines they are The British Overseas Airlines Corporation (BOAC), The British European airways (BEA), Cambrian Airways and finally the Northeast Airlines this took place on 31st march 1974. Thus BA was formed. It was one of the few prestigious airline to fly the Concorde the supersonic passenger plane. It has a large fleet of 239 aircrafts. It flies to 300 destinations. It employees 42,755 employ . It is a public limited company also listed on the London stock exchange. The main headquarters of BA are Heathrow airport and Gatwick airport both are situated in London. It is also a star alliance member. The total revenue earned by BA in the year 2010 was  £7,994 million. Mission And Vision:- Visi Fig1.1 Mission, Vision, goals, objective cycle It is defined as A mission describes the organization basic function in society , in terms of the product and services for its customer -Mintzberg The above definition explains how important a mission is for a organization as it helps in building its own image in front of the customer that it wishes to give services to. It maybe a just a sentence but it creates a image in the mind of the reader what the organization is made up of. It also helps to give the brand a competitive edge as the mission statement will help in showing the uniqueness of the brand. The mission statement of British Airways is as follows One Destination seeks to ensure our customers fly confident that, together, we are acting responsibly to take care of the world we live in. BA mission statement on reading creates a mindset that they always be safe on ground or in air and they want the customer to feel safe and confident when they fly British airways. They have also maintained their mission statement as they have least accident history and they always have new fleets and always updated with latest technology. Values:- Organizational values define the acceptable standards which govern the behaviour of individuals within the organization. Without such values, individuals will pursue behaviours that are in line with their own individual value systems, which may lead to behaviours that the organization doesnt wish to encourage. Thus values are very important for the organisation for achieving the vision that it aims for(Value of Organizational value)(http://www.teal.org.uk/mat/page6.htm)(accsed on 22ndApril 2011) The values of BA are as follows:- OBJECTIVE:- Objectives are normally quantified statements of what the organisation actually intends to achieve over a period of time. According to Mintzberg (1997), Business Enviourment; Viva books. He says that objective help the organisation to conduct activities that will help in acquiring the mission of the organisation. He also says while forming a the objective the organisation must use the SMART technique. The objective should contain these points. Fig 1.2 SMART Objective The objective of BA is as follows:- Fig 1.3 Objective of BA 1.b) Evaluate the extent to which an organization achieves the objectives of three stakeholders. The individual or groups who have interest in how a organisation performs because they have some stake in it and thus it affects them in someway. In the modern world they are mainly of two types which include primary and secondary stakeholders (Stokes D., (2002) Small Business Management (4th edition) Thomson Publications: UK.) The primary and secondary stakeholder of BA have a effect on the airline as they are somehow related to the organization. Thus in the table below the author has shown how both of these can affect the airline Stakeholders General Interest Influence Shareholders .A Steady flow of revenue .Should be well informed about the risk and plans .Continuation of Business -Exercising ones right to vote -Checking the annual book as well as the statements. -To defend against wrong issues Managers .Pay and Status .Job Security .Job Satisfaction -Growth of the organisation -Participating to improve the organisation with recommendations Employees .Job Security .Pay and Condition .Job Satisfaction -The union may go on strike -Exposure Customers .Receiving goods and services of a reasonable quality .Receive optimum level of services .Great value for money paid -Choosing other airline over BA -Bad impression about the airline -Not using it services Suppliers .Being paid promptly for the goods and services delivered .Receiving regular repayment of the capital provided -Not delivery the Services on time. -Serving competitors Government and General Public .The organisation is meeting the relevant legal requirements .Social welfare of public is protected .Helping the nation and public to progress -Licenses, law and permits -Strict laws against them -Social activist -Boycott or appreciate the company. Fig 1.4 Shareholders their interest and influence All the organisation in the world to run smoothly and efficiently need to satisfy its stakeholders as they have a stake in the organisation which can affect the organisation in both good and bad ways as shown in the table above. Thus British airways is no exception even they have tried to meet the satisfaction of the stakeholders so as to progress more and achieve their targets. Below are given the instances where British airways have satisfied its stakeholders Employees they are the most important part of the organisation for the smooth and progressive functioning of the organisation. As BA is a large organisation hence it employs a large no of employees whos need and wants he need to caters. Thus BA has done many changes like improving the workplace where they function reasonable working hours were allotted to them then they have also introduced various crew programme which help them improve the safety of themselves as well as the customer. BA has also started recruiting people from all over the globe so as to maintain a equality among the employees. Their wages are also improved compared to what they were paid earlier some changes were done by BA for some the union had fought to get it done Society are a major concern for organisation like BA because if society is not benefited from them they wont allow smooth functioning of the airline for the same reason BA has contributed a lot towards society by giving them employment in the firm also setting up various NGOs to help the underprivileged society also contributing some amount towards charity. They have even started cutting down their co2 gases by using much more fuel efficient engines as well as machines used at the airport thus contributing o save the enviourment. Customers are the important part for the organisation to progress because e if customers arent there then who will the airline serve and earn money from. As BA is in the service industry they need to take good care of their customers so as to improve their image as well as their market standings. For the same they have improved their economy class cabin by improving the quality of service provided also they have introduced the programme known as CUSTOMER KING which is for the first and business class travellers. They have also increased their security standard so to increase the safety of their passengers. Q.1c) Explain the responsibilities of an organisation and strategies employed to meet them? Social Responsibility of an organisation may be defined as the obligations that the organisation has towards the people and the enviourment in which the business functions. In other words the corporate social responsibility is a process where the organisation can improve its functioning in outdoor as well as indoor processes so as to increase the vision, improvement and add competitive advantage to the company. BA has to maintain the business ethical criterion responsibly they also known the importance of their stakeholders and hence they follow the regulation so as to protect the social, environmental, financial, and economical of the stakeholders. In order to complete these aspects BA follows all the legislation laws and rules laid down for safety, employment and other such stakeholder related aspects. By following these laws and jurisdiction BA shows loyalty towards the corporate social responsibility as a business should show. Below are given few social responsibility that British airways follows and tries to do the needful for it (Corporate responsibilities (2007) one destination [online] (updated on 2010) Available at: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/csr-corporate-responsibility/public/en_gb?link=main_nav [Accessed 15th may 2011]. Environmental Protection Act:- BA has started to contribute a lot towards helping in saving the enviourment the reason being that there have been more strict rules by the government in recent years so to implement those and also create a healthy enviourment they have taken various steps in help protecting the enviourment The steps taken are as follows:- Fig 1.5 Enviourment Protection Act Safety and Security Act:- British airways are known for their stringent security measure that they follow. The safety of the passenger and crew are their highest priority. BA also follows the most advanced and sophisticated machinery in their services so as to assure the passenger that they are in safe hands. They also have a outstanding record in safety and security flied. Fig 1.5 Safety and Security Measures Employees Act:- The staff of a company are those people who work for a particular organisation or a industry, but apart from that they are a part of a large society where the organisation functions. The first labour law in Britain was made in 1974 for the people or employees of and organisation. The law consisted of various aspect that would help the employee to feel secured and satisfied in the workplace. Some of the laws were Self Organisation, Collective Bargains, To work what is suitable to employee, and job security. Thus BA follows these rules laid down by the government and also supports it. So as to keep the employees happy and smooth running of the organisation. 2.)Using PESTLE and any management tool you are familiar with evaluate the impact of macroeconomic policy measures and the influence of the global economy on British Airways and its stakeholders? PESTLE Policy Implications On BA Political Heavy Regulation (AEA,2009) Increased Security due to past terrorist attacks(DFT,2009) .Compliance is necessary if BA wants to continue operations .Enough security measure should be undertaken to maintain the competitive advantage and beliefs in consumers Economic -Economic Crisis the growth projected at only 2%in 2009(IMF,2008) -Pounds weakens against Euro Fluctuations of oil prices .Possible decline in the business travel as companies are using alternate methods like telephone conferencing. .BA will face poor exchange rate as well as due to the fluctuation it will affect their cost base as the rate they might get for the currency might get low Social The population in UK is ageing given by national statistics. Due to recession there is increased unemployment .This a great opportunity for BA as older generations have more money and time to spend. Technological New technologies regarding the fleet and improvement and addition to the fleet The number of people using e-check in has increased a lot .As there are new aircrafts coming in the market BA should keep its fleet updated with these machines .BA should keep itself updated so as to remain in the competition Environmental/ Ethical Expansion of its main terminal is difficult because it comes under Londons green belt area Consumer are aware of what are the effects of air travel as they are increasingly becoming more green. BA has to convert limited space into full utilisation of the capacity that it has BA has to adopt to all its environmental strategies to keep the consumer with them Legal Collusion and Fixed Pricing Open skies Agreement(AEA,2009) Restriction on having mergers will affect their alliance with American airlines .BA has a great opportunity of transferring aircrafts between him and America Fig 2 Pestle on BA (www.scibd.com) The other macroeconomic policy that can effect BA are as follows:- -Monetary Policy in the UK is concerned with the decision of rate of interest and the supply of money in the economy. The one who controls the interest rate in the UK are the Bank of England Monetary Policy committee. The current rate decided by the bank of England is around 2.0% . If they decide to increase the rate then it wont be feasible for BA to borrow loans from them as they will have to pay very high interest rate thus they wont benefit from it. But if they lower the rates then BA can borrow from the bank and achieve their objective much quickly. -Exchange Rate Policy is handled by the government. The exchange rate is controlled by how much amount of gold and foreign exchange currency do they have in reserve in the central bank. The rate is even altered when the interest rates go higher or lower. If the exchange rate is high then BA will benefit as the goods it will buy will be cheaper as the currency they using will be higher and thus they can make profits. But if it goes down then BA will face losses as the things that were cheap will became expensive and they will have to increase the air fares which will see a decline in their sales. These are some policy that the author think can BA . All the organisations in the world are affected by the social economic and enviourment factors globally. As BA is a large organisation operating in more than 300 countries hence it has to fulfil and satisfy all its stakeholder. Britains economy policy affects a lot of organisation below is given their policies that influence them Government Organisations Overall Economic Policy -Market Demand -Cost of Finance -Taxation Industry Policy -Protection vs Free trade grants, -Incentives, Sponsorship Regulation eg:- Investor protection, company law, entry barrier, capacity Social Policy -Work Place regulation, -Employment Law -Labour Supply -Skills, Education Foreign Policy -Trade promotion -Export Credits EU and WTO obligations -Export promotion to allies Environmental and infrastructure Policy -Distribution Fig 2.2 Economic Policies of UK Social Welfare policy which BA follows are it has introduced work place regulation which enables its employees to work freely in the workplace as they have been given high level of training which helps them to do their work with much ease and perfection as well. The safety standard used by BA is also very high and the crew are also given sufficient amount of rest and training to function effectively. BA also has normal working standard and all the aspect that are included in the employment law. The employees are also given a lot benefits which include perks, pension, maternity allowance, social fund as well as other benefits which help make their private life better as well. These are some of the policy that BA follows towards its employees 3.) Explain whether the problems facing the British airways can be found in a planned economic system and discuss whether the economic system in which the BA operates allocates resources better. Different nations of the world use different approaches or types of economic system. The core of the economic problem is infinite desires versus limited assets. The study of economics is basically how nations allocate their resources in the best way so as to maximize the productility and services to fulfil the satisfaction of wants. In modern economies there are various ways of dealing with scarcity. The various kinds of economy are as follows:- Fig3.1The different types of economic systems (BPP, Learning media, (2007) Business essentials: Business environment (3rd edition) viva books Pvt ltd: London) The economy followed by Britain is a mixed economy because there is a balance between the market forces and the state interventions. The advantages of mixed economies are any one can set up a business and choose what to produce and even set their own cost. Even though they pay taxes they reap benefits through social programmes. The disadvantages of mixed economy are many business find it difficult to find a market for their products also they cant control the taxes they pay, merchants always complain that they are very high.(http://www.blurtit.com/q917361.html) accessed on 14th may 2011) In mixed economy the decisions of resources provision would somewhat depend upon the forces of supply and demand curve and it might also depends on the aims and the objectives of the firm. BA after privatization faced a lot of changes as after the merger BA had changed some of its rule and accepted a few of the other airlines rule. It even started to fly to more international destination once the demand for that increased. Because of this reason their whole allocation shifted from one firm to anther and from domestic to international. Because BA is in a mixed economy there is always a chance of growth as the private firms will help them, Also BA has to complete all the requirements that are jotted down by the stakeholders or even the government. But as of now BA is fulfilling all the criteria that are laid down by the government as well as also helping the airline to grow as much as it can. Thus Mixed economy helps BA to allocate its resources better than any other economy would have. 4.) State the market in which the British Airways operate and discuss whether it is easy to merge in that type of market (regulatory environment implication etc)? The level and amount of competition faced by the firms varies a great deal. There are many types of market and no market is similar to each other in some single firms dominate in other there might be a lot of competition for the same product or service. The market structures that the firms operate are different from each other. Figure 4.1 The Different market structures. Perfect competition:- When there are many people in the market, and other condition are such , that no one can influence the price, all other things being equal. This occurs when there are lots of sellers and lots of buyers and nobody can have any effect on the total quantity for sale or the total amount that the buyers want. There is a freedom in the entry and exit of the industry. Monopoly:- When there is only one supplier for a product or service in a market we call that as monopoly market. The business owns a key source for which substitute is very hard to find. The pricing of the product is decided by the firm itself. Duopoly:- It is a market were two sellers compete with each other for a homogenous good . The output of the firm is believed to be fixed. The example can be If BA lowers its transatlantic fares then how will virgin react to it? It is a case between competition ad monopoly. Oligopoly:- When there are a few large suppliers, whose business decisions affect each other they are said to be in oligopoly market. The example that author has chosen is from the airline industry as he can link it to BA. Suppose if BA was to lower their airfare for a particular sector on which even virgin flies then to be in the competitive race even virgin will have to lower its prices. Thus in oligopoly market if one makes a decision then it has to effect the other. New firms cant enter this market as it requires huge amount of investment. This lowering of prices of both the companies is known as price wars. Competition Commission;- The competition commission is an self-governing public body established by competition Act 1998. It replaced the monopolies and Mergers Commission with a superior power to take authoritarian actions or measures in the closure of the company. BPP, Learning media, (2007) Business essentials: Business environment (3rd edition) viva books Pvt ltd: London). This body mainly makes sure that no organisation should form merger or cartels with each other to convert the market from oligopoly to monopoly market. 5.)Explain whether the British airways have benefited from international business/trade and the European Union. What will be the business implication to the BA, if the UK, joins the European Monetary Union (EMU). International trade is the exchange of goods and services between countries. An import is the UK purchase of a good or service made overseas. An export is the sale of a UK made good or service overseas. BA is a international airline which operates in more than 300 destination. It operates in continents Asia, Europe, America etc. As BA being a British company it has chosen Europe as its global market. One of the reason being that it is the member of the European union. BA has benefited from international trade big time for many of the events like given below:- -There is free trade of aircraft between BA and American airlines hence they can upgrade their fleet without paying the duties -The land cost in Britain is very high compared to rest of Europe hence they use to set up big factories which they need at places where the land is cheap. -The labour in many parts of Europe is also very cheap compared to Britain. -The currency they use is accepted all over Europe and hence they dont even lose any money on exchange rate. -The raw material which is needed by BA is obtained at much cheaper rate from European countries These are some of the benefits that BA has by doing intenational trade with the European union members. Fig5.1 Trading benefits with Europe

One Hundred Years of Solitude: Linear and Circular Time :: One Hundred Years of Solitude

One Hundred Years of Solitude: Linear and Circular Time Cien Anos de Soledad Style in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is closely linked to myth. Marquez chooses magic realism over the literal, thereby placing the novel's emphasis on the surreal. To complement this style, time in One Hundred Years of Solitude is also mythical, simultaneously incorporating circular and linear structure (McMurray 76). Most novels are structured linearly. Events occur chronologically, and one can map the novel's exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. One Hundred Years of Solitude is also linear in its broad outlines (Bell-Villida 98). The plot of the novel is simple: Jose Arcadio Buendia marries his cousin Ursula, they found Macondo, the family grows, declines, and is eventually blown off the face of the earth by a hurricane. There is a beginning, and time moves the story to a total, apocalyptic conclusion (117). Within this linear background, the structure of One Hundred Years of Solitude is circular (McMurray 77). Events throughout the entire novel repeat themselves in cycles. The names Aureliano and Jose Arcadio are repeated in each generation, resulting in a total of five Jose Arcadios and 22 Aurelianos. The men's personalities also seem to be repeated; the Jose Arcadios are "impulsive and enterprising," and the Aurelianos are "lucid and withdrawn" (77). The cyclical rhythm is reinforced by six instances of incest that occur over five of the family's six generations. One of the most striking instances of cyclical structure is found in the novel's opening line: "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice" (Garcia Marquez 1). Two generations later, chapter eleven opens the same way: "Years later on his death bed, Aureliano Segundo would remember the rainy afternoon in June when he went into the bedroom to meet his first son" (186). These two sentences are grammatically parallel . They open with an adverbial phrase ("Years later"), followed by the subject and then the predicate in exactly the same verb tense. The sentences begin with an event in the distant future and conclude with an allusion to a future event that, in both cases, occurs within the same chapter. As critic Barroa notes, "the words 'many years later' appear so often they become the heartbeat of the novel" (104).

How Gazda Cars and Bomino Printing approach the management of their activities Essay

Advantages * It’s Organised * Their pay is related to their performance, which will motivate them perform better. * Work is carried out in controlled environment. * It’s seen as ‘social’ which motivates workers. * Managers convey ‘moral elite’, trustworthy, broadly motivated to organise & influence others. * Employees have more control of their work (live to work). * Take interesting staff giving feeling of involvement, security & job satisfaction, related to high achievement Disadvantages * Scientific approach used (work to live). * Communication between workers is bad. Not approachable, no influence. * Managers defined as ‘rational economic’, primarily motivated by just money. * Being too nice to staff makes managers look weak. Managers need that power so everything is in control. * Staff can abuse their manager if their needs are not fulfilled, e.g., they can strike. People can respond to many different types of management strategies, but there is no single strategy that will work for all everyone all the time. Therefore, Gazda Cars should refer to Fielder’s Contingency Approach to management. This theory supports the view of the ‘complex man’- i.e. the motives that man has which changes over time and in different situations, can be seen as personal hierarchy. It defines situational favourability, or the ease of influencing followers as the combination of situational factors: leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. Fielder argued that leadership style was innate and that the above three situational factors determined whether task or relations oriented leadership was more appropriate. The main ideas about Contingency Theory are: 1. There is no universal or one best way to manage 2. The design of an organisations and its subsystems must ‘fit’ with the environment 3. Effective organisations not only have a proper ‘fit’ with the environment but also between its subsystems and 4. The needs of an organisation are better satisfied when it is properly designed and the management style is appropriate both to the tasks undertaken and the nature of the work group. The contingency approach opens the door for the possibility that leadership could be different in every situation (Saal and Knight, 1988). It provides a more realistic view of leadership by allowing for complexity and situational specificity of overall effectiveness. As organisations today are faced with continuing changes in technology, environment conditions, and internal processes, this approach can offer a more sophisticated understanding of the leadership process and emphasise the idea of flexible, adaptive leadership that may contribute to the success of a company. However, the various models in contingency theory have been criticised largely for the difficulty in testing the contingency variables selected since variables may affect each other or be influenced by a leader. The complexity of situational factors and various combinations of task and subordinate characteristics makes a single comprehensive test of the model impossible (Wagner and Hollenbeck, 1992). As it is entirely possible that different leaders in the same situation may reach different conclusions about the situation, which may in turn cause them to take very different actions, the practical use of this theory in business is quite limited. Gazda’s Mechanistic Structure Bomino’s Organic Structure – Operates in a competitive & fast changing environment but is not seen as exiting or fun. – They are separate departments for production, sales, marketing, research and development, data processing, accounts and human resource management. – Each member has their own specific role. – Obedience to superiors and loyalty to the organisation are assisted upon. – This structure is old fashioned. The communication usually comes in the form of instructions & decisions issued by superiors and the performance feed back & requests for decisions sent from subordinates. – Work is carried in a controlled environment. Control & authority relationships are structured in a vertical hierarchy. – Operates in a highly complex environment. Tasks are highly specialised. Employees are not clear on how their tasks contribute to accomplishing organisational objectives. – Distributes inkjet & laser printing systems, which is a fast moving product, economically productive. – Department are separated for all the main business functions. – General roles are defined for each member. – Authority relationships & control are structured in a network rather than a hierarchy. – This approach is to do with being nice to staff. Commitment to organisational goals is recommended more then loyalty or obedience. – Teams are set up to work on new product development. Tasks are modified often & redefined by means & mutual adjustment among task holders. – Workers have a variety of tasks which are broad and independent. Relation of task performance to attainment of organisational objectives is emphasised. Gazda’s Role culture Bomino’s Task culture – There are usually job descriptions, rules & procedures to govern behaviour as well as procedures for all activities. – Pay is related to performance. A role culture is one which emphasises conformity to expectations. As Harrison’s theory states, such organizations can be said to be ‘rational instruments for the achievements of specific goals’. – People work most effectively & efficiently when they have relatively, simple clearly defined, circumscribed & measurable tasks. However the company operates in a highly complex fast changing environment. – Here management is seen as completing a succession of projects or solving problems, often as a part of a team. It is ‘project oriented, bringing together the right people’. – The staff get a feeling of involvement; security & general job satisfaction are closely related to high achievement. – Performance is judged by results. – Job satisfaction tends to be high, to the degree of individual participating & group identity. Though the current tall structure and Role culture at Gazda internally complement each other, one can question whether those are the most efficient with regards to the dynamic and highly competitive external environment. Role culture and tall structure is perfectly suited in a stable external environment but cannot maintain maximum productivity in an unpredictable and rapidly changing external environment. Such structures and cultures lack the flexibility to quickly adapt to external influences; it is commonly known that if one cannot adapt to ones external environment then one is in great danger of becoming extinct. It is important to identify the need for reorganisation culture, process and structure. If reorganisation can be justified than the most feasible and effective approach should be implemented to replace its predecessor. The structure at Gazda is a much closed system where information processing and co-operation are slow. It can be said communication is the way to success, hence in order to achieve maximum efficiency champion manufactures need to increase levels of cooperation and information processing to improve the internal environment. Maybe a more organic approach, being an open system which emphasis is placed in group actions; co-operation and team work should be integrated into the present structure and culture along with lateral relationships. The pre dominant advantages of integrating these two new elements are firstly, allowing direct contact between employees and those higher up the hierarchy, hence problems are addressed quicker and time is used efficiently both the current structure and culture will successfully take the business further. In contrast to a tall organisation, a flat organisation will have relatively few layers or just one layer of management. This means that the â€Å"Chain of Command† from top to bottom is short and the â€Å"span of control is wide†. Due to the small number of management layers, flat organisations are often small organisations similar to Bomino Printing. A task culture refers to a team based approach to complete a particular task. They are popular in today’s modern business society where the organisation will establish particular ‘project teams’ to complete a task to date. A task culture clearly offers some benefits. Employees feel motivated because they are empowered to make decisions within their team, they will also feel valued because they may have been selected within that team and given the responsibility to bring the task to a successful end. I say they are both related because the informal structure relates to a particular task carried out by particular groups of individuals working together this is of a similar nature to a task culture. Decision making at managerial levels is more efficient as fewer people need to be informed/included in this process. Thirdly, staff motivation is increased at higher levels of co-operation means employees are not constantly being given simple direct orders by managers. This has a boosting affect on morale and motivation. Last but not least with a free flow of information present, all departments can be encouraged to succumb to change, therefore enabling the organisation to respond to influential external factors. Bomino Printing should remain loyal to the present culture and structure because this will help them build and progress further in the future.    Bibliography Human resource management – Ian Beardwell and Len Holden Management – James A.F Stoner (Fifth edition) Organisations and behaviour – Patrick Corner Principles of scientific management – Fredrick W. Taylor Web sites – http://www.northstar.k12.ak.us/schools/ryn/projects/inventors/taylor/taylor.html http://www.business.com/directory/management/management_theory/contingency_and_system_theory/ http://www.uniqindex.co.za/maslows.htm

20 Common Law Internship On-Campus Interview Questions

The on-campus interview (OCI): It has an ominous ring to it, maybe because of horror stories told by other law school students, maybe because of the pressure to do well. Almost all law schools offer some type of on-campus interview at the start of the students second year. Although your entire future may not hang on the success of your OCI, you definitely want to do well enough to proceed to the next step: the callback interview. If you manage that, your future will indeed be brighter.   You can do this, and you can do it well. In fact, you can ace it with the right preparation and if you know what to expect going in. The OCI Despite its name, the OCI may or may not actually take place on campus, but in a hotel conference room or another public facility. Its not with law school personnel, but rather with representatives of some of the foremost law firms in the area—even some outside the area. Theyre looking for the perfect students to staff their summer associate programs. And yes, that will look awesome on your resume even if your interview doesnt ultimately result in a summer  position, which is, of course, your ultimate goal.   Your meetings arent random. You must apply to your targeted firms first, and the firm will most likely receive a lot of bids. The firm then chooses who it wants to interview from among these bids. If youre chosen and if you do well, youll be invited back for that callback interview, which will most likely result in a summer job offer.   What Happens in the Law School Interview? Preparation means knowing what interview questions you can probably expect. Not every interview goes the same way, of course, so you may or may not be asked all the following questions. In a worst-case scenario, you wont be asked any of them. But you should at least have answers prepared for these so youre not caught off guard, and you can use them for ideas to branch out into other possible questions so you can prepare for those, too.   Why did you go to law school?Are you enjoying law school? What do you like/dislike about it?What classes do you enjoy/dislike?Do you feel youre getting a good legal education?If you could go back and decide whether to go to law school again, would you do it?Do you feel your GPA and/or class rank is representative of your legal abilities?Why do you think youd make a good lawyer?What is your biggest weakness?Do you like working on your own or on a team?How do you handle criticism?What is your proudest achievement?Where do you see yourself in 10 years?Do you consider yourself competitive?What have you learned from work experiences/student activities?Have you ever withdrawn from a class?What do you know about this firm?Why do you want to work at this firm?What areas of law interest you most?What types of books do you like to read?Do you have any questions? The last one can be tricky, but you are certainly entitled to ask a few questions of your own, so prepare for that possibility as well.