Study Guide
Overview and Test Objectives
Field 098: Business, Management, Marketing, and Technology
Test Overview
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT) |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions | 100 multiple-choice questions |
| Time | 2 hours 30 minutes* |
| Passing Score | 220 |
*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial
Test Objectives
| Subarea | Range of Objectives | Approximate Percentage of Questions on Test | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Business | 001–005 | 25% |
| II | Management | 006–010 | 25% |
| III | Marketing | 011–015 | 25% |
| IV | Technology | 016–020 | 25% |
Hover over each subarea for details of subtest content or see table above.
Sub area 1 25%, Sub area 2 25%, Sub area 3 25%, and Sub area 4 25%.
Subarea 1—BUSINESS
Objective 001—Understand the accounting equation and the accounting cycle.
Includes:
- determining the value of assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity and applying the accounting equation to various business situations
- demonstrating an understanding of the various steps in the accounting cycle, including adjusting and closing entries
- identifying sources of data that contribute to these steps
- understanding the use of the accounting cycle in the accrual basis and cash basis of accounting
Objective 002—Apply procedures for using and interpreting source documents, ledgers, journals, and work sheets in manual and computerized accounting systems.
Includes:
- identifying types, characteristics, and functions of source documents, journals, ledgers, and work sheets
- preparing journals, trial balances, and reconciliations
- preparing, interpreting, and analyzing financial statements for service, merchandising, and manufacturing businesses
- applying appropriate accounting principles to various forms of ownership
- applying payroll procedures
- identifying types and characteristics of taxes, investments, and banking services
- evaluating the performance of an organization using planning and control principles
- describing the role of accounting in ethical business practices and decision making
Objective 003—Apply principles of law to business situations.
Includes:
- understanding the role of government in regulating business, the structure of the court system, classifications of procedural law, and classifications of substantive law
- analyzing the relationships among contract, sales, consumer, employment, and agency laws
- understanding laws related to commercial paper, insurance, secured transactions, and bankruptcy
- understanding laws regarding personal property, real property, and intellectual property
- analyzing the relationship between ethics and the law
- applying U.S. and other law to national and international markets
Objective 004—Apply principles of mathematics to analyze and solve business problems.
Includes:
- applying basic mathematical operations to solve problems with and without the use of a calculator
- solving problems containing decimals, fractions, percents, ratios, and proportions
- using algebraic operations to solve problems
- interpreting data using common statistical procedures (e.g., mean, median, mode)
Objective 005—Apply principles of business communication.
Includes:
- understanding ways to communicate effectively in a clear, courteous, concise, considerate, and correct manner on both personal and professional levels
- identifying the concepts, strategies, and systems needed to interact effectively with others
- applying appropriate social communication skills in personal and professional situations, including cover letters and résumés in a global environment
- using appropriate technology to enhance the effectiveness of communications
- demonstrating appropriate leadership, supervisory, customer service, and ethical standards to communicate effectively with business constituents
- demonstrating communication strategies necessary for effective international business relations
Subarea 2—MANAGEMENT
Objective 006—Understand types, structures, and functions of business management.
Includes:
- demonstrating leadership, communication, planning, controlling, organizing, problem-solving, and self-management skills
- demonstrating an understanding of professional ethics and social responsibility in business
Objective 007—Understand human resource management, labor relations, and the role of corporate, group, and interpersonal behavior in business management.
Includes:
- applying human resource principles, systems, and contingency approaches to actual management scenarios
- recognizing human resource practices to legally and effectively manage a diverse workforce
- applying social theory (e.g., group dynamics, work groups, roles within teams, conflict resolution methods) to the workplace
Objective 008—Understand principles of macroeconomics and their application to business.
Includes:
- comparing types and characteristics of economic systems
- demonstrating how a free and competitive economy operates through monetary exchange, market pricing, and the law of supply and demand
- describing how the allocation of private and public resources affects the economy
Objective 009—Understand principles of microeconomics and their application to business.
Includes:
- identifying key U.S. economic measures (e.g., gross domestic product, employment, unemployment rate, inflation, capital spending)
- identifying types of competition and their roles in the U.S. economy
- analyzing the role of opportunity costs for making economic decisions
- identifying factors of production that affect productivity in business situations
- identifying the rights and responsibilities of citizens in the U.S. economic system
Objective 010—Apply principles of personal finance.
Includes:
- developing and using a personal finance plan including debt management, investment options, credit, and consumerism
- identifying how to manage economic risks
- using a rational decision-making process as it applies to the roles of citizens, workers, and consumers
Subarea 3—MARKETING
Objective 011—Apply principles of marketing to business situations.
Includes:
- analyzing the role of product, pricing, placement, and promotion in developing marketing strategies
- identifying the concepts and processes needed to obtain, develop, maintain, and improve a product or service mix in response to market opportunities
- identifying the concepts and strategies needed to communicate information about products, services, images, and/or ideas to achieve a desired income
- identifying the concepts and strategies utilized in determining and adjusting prices to maximize return and meet customers’ perceptions of value
- understanding the concepts and processes needed to move, store, locate, and/or transfer ownership of goods and services
- using technology to implement marketing activities
- applying marketing concepts to international business situations
Objective 012—Apply financial concepts to marketing decision making.
Includes:
- understanding the economic principles and concepts fundamental to marketing
- explaining the concepts, systems, and tools needed to gather, access, synthesize, evaluate, and disseminate information for use in making marketing decisions (e.g., demographics, economic statistics, market surveys)
- identifying the strategies needed to determine client needs and wants and then respond through planned, personalized communication that influences purchase decisions and enhances future business opportunities
Objective 013—Understand entrepreneurship and its role in the economy.
Includes:
- recognizing risks, responsibilities, and benefits of entrepreneurship
- identifying procedures related to starting a business, including procedures for creating and carrying out business plans
- applying procedures related to starting, buying, and operating franchises
- understanding procedures for determining financial start-up projections and methods for generating various types of capital
- analyzing the role of entrepreneurship and small business in the global economy
Objective 014—Understand international trade and the global economy.
Includes:
- recognizing the role and scope of international trade
- evaluating factors that affect international trade and economics (e.g., trade barriers, trade agreements, monetary exchange rates)
- applying marketing concepts to international business
- conducting business at the local, state, national, and international levels
- analyzing business situations involving international trade
Objective 015—Understand and apply procedures and techniques for selecting and preparing for, obtaining, and maintaining a career in business.
Includes:
- identifying types and characteristics of business careers
- assessing personal strengths and weaknesses as they relate to career exploration and development
- understanding the concepts and strategies needed for career exploration, development, and growth
- identifying career resources in order to develop an information base that includes global occupational opportunities
- describing the importance of life-long learning to career success
- understanding career development and planning
- developing a career pathways plan that includes the transition from school to work
Subarea 4—TECHNOLOGY
Objective 016—Understand the basic principles of technology and information systems.
Includes:
- demonstrating oral and written communication skills in creating, expressing, and interpreting technical information and ideas
- formulating solutions to information technology problems using critical thinking skills (e.g., analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating) independently and in teams
- demonstrating the ability to use technology to contribute to continuous improvement in system performance and compliance
Objective 017—Apply the principles of technology and information systems in a business environment.
Includes:
- analyzing business-related problems and situations to determine appropriate technological solutions
- demonstrating knowledge of the design, operation, and maintenance of technology systems for information technology careers
- demonstrating achievement of information technology cluster-specific academic knowledge and skill standards
Objective 018—Apply appropriate technology tools to enhance organizational performance.
Includes:
- demonstrating the use of information technology tools to access, manage, integrate, and create information
- demonstrating knowledge of health, safety, and environmental management systems in organizations and their importance to organizational performance and regulatory compliance
Objective 019—Understand how technology impacts key organizational systems.
Includes:
- understanding how technology influences the roles within teams, work units, departments, organizations, and interorganizational systems
- identifying how technology affects systems, organizational performance, and the quality of products and services
Objective 020—Understand professional ethics and legal responsibility as they relate to the information technology field.
Includes:
- the ability to create an acceptable use policy for information technology resources, including user access and data security (e.g., e-mail, Internet, intranet, data warehouses)
- compliance with copyright law, intellectual property rights, and licensing agreements