Principles of Business Management and Administration

About this event

Principles of Business Management and Administration (event code PBM) is one of DECA's five Principles of Business Administration events, which exist for students in their first year of DECA who are taking an introductory business or marketing course. If you were a DECA member before, or you competed in a middle-school DECA event, you are not eligible; joining in middle school without competing is fine. All five Principles events share the same rules and the same exam. What changes is the role-play, which for Principles of Business Management and Administration is written around careers in administrative services, business information management, general management, human resources management and operations management. Round by round: every participant takes the 100-question, multiple-choice Business Administration Core exam, drawn from the Tier 1 core performance indicators (business law, communications, customer relations, economics, emotional intelligence, financial analysis, information management, operations, professional development and more). You then get a written business situation with four performance indicators listed on it, 10 minutes to prepare notes, and up to 10 minutes with a judge who plays a business executive, asks the follow-up questions printed in the event, and scores you on an evaluation form. Finalists get a second role-play. For the 2026-27 district level, DECA has announced that this event's role-play instructional area is Professional Development; at the association level and ICDC the area is not announced in advance. Scoring: the role-play evaluation is out of 100 points and is weighted twice the value of the exam score, and your exam score carries forward into the final round. The judge scores the four performance indicators, the quality of your solution (unique, practical, effective), three Career Competencies (critical thinking, communication, decision making) and overall impression. No printed references or visual aids may be brought in; a four-function calculator is allowed during the exam and prep time.

What judges score

What's on the exam

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