Business, Finance, Marketing and Management Service Area: Middle School (5-8)

Universal CTE Middle School Standards

Business, Finance, Marketing and Management Service Area Standards 

Employability Skills: (overarching comprehensive standard statement)

Career Exploration 

Develop Effective Safety Practices

Ethics in the Workplace 

Leadership & Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs)

Understand business concepts and career exploration

Understand the role of financial literacy in personal and business decisions

Explore the role of digital technology on business productivity and personal safety 

Understand how collaboration and communication builds successful projects

Understand how marketing and innovation impact entrepreneurial ideas and decisions

Demonstrate transferable knowledge and skills like attitudes, teamwork, leadership in the learning environment. 

Create an environment that encourages and respects the ideas, perspectives, and contributions of all group members.

Evaluate effective conflict prevention techniques. 

Apply the roles of decision making and problem solving in reducing and managing conflict.

Demonstrate effective responses to bullying harassment.

Summarize career pathways within industries; including education needed, training requirements, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and available opportunities.

Demonstrate safety and sanitation procedures for a clean and safe environment.

Students apply safety practices in the learning environment.

Model ethical behavior and sound decision-making principles in the learning environment.

Examine how the industry contributes to or influences society.

Demonstrate leadership skills and abilities in school and community settings through participation in civic and community leadership and teamwork opportunities. Exhibit traits such as compassion, service, listening, coaching, developing others, team development, and understanding and appreciating others. 

Explore how Iowa’s career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) are integral components of career and technical education courses through compounding leadership experiences and professional skill development, service learning opportunities in the school and community and experiential work- and project-based learning and competitive events.

Identify career pathways in business.

Understand the different types of businesses.

Understand financial terms and concepts.

Learn to set personal financial goals.

Explore the basics of business financial management and the economy.

Demonstrate effective use of digital tools for production.

Understand one’s role in digital safety and wellness.

Recognize the role of digital and social media on business.

Understand how collaboration and communication impacts cohesive teams.

Apply the elements of successful project management.

Demonstrate entrepreneurial innovation.

Define essential marketing concepts in product development. 

Identify the role of various departments within a business, i.e., human resources, management, finance, marketing, IT and operations.

Investigate educational requirements, job responsibilities, employment trends and opportunities within the national career clusters using credible sources. 

Compare business in different industry sectors (manufacturing, retail, service, etc.).

Research the day-to-day operations of a small versus large business.

Explain the purpose and functions of a bank.

Analyze the different types of bank accounts and determine where it is appropriate to use each one.

Practice basic record keeping of a bank account, such as writing checks, recordings transactions in a check register and understanding and reconciling a bank statement.

Differentiate between a credit card, a debit card and a bank card.

Investigate the economic benefits of good credit and the consequences of debt. 

Examine the different types of credit and determine the appropriate time to use each.

Develop and analyze a personal finance plan that shows understanding of the personal responsibility of spending choices.

Identify and explain needs versus wants in creating a financial plan.

Evaluate the effect of advertising on purchasing decisions.

Craft a sample balanced personal budget (include needs, wants, savings and charitable giving).

Determine types of income and expenses and explain how and why it is important to budget and save money. 

Explore and define opportunity costs associated with a purchase and explain what it means to be a smart shopper.

Describe free enterprise (capitalism) and its effect on the economy of a nation.

Explain the theory of supply and demand.

Investigate the basics of running a business, incorporating simple forms used in recordkeeping (order forms, invoices, sales receipts, packing slips).

Demonstrate knowledge of file management. 

Demonstrate knowledge of word processing (basic tasks of software, page layout, formatting text, tables and images).

Demonstrate knowledge of spreadsheets (basic tasks of software, using formulas and functions, inserting columns and charts).

Demonstrate knowledge of presentation programs (slide layouts, animations, transition, formatting text, tables, and images).

Define online safety as being aware of online risks and maximizing the user’s personal safety.

Define intellectual property as a creative work or idea for which an individual has ownership rights. 

Identify primary functions and features of digital and social media.

Use creativity and digital communications to communicate information for a product.

Practice communicating with others in a variety of ways to explain an idea, solution or problem.

Demonstrate conflict resolution skills.

Practice active listening skills.

Understand the importance of nonverbal communication.

Understand the basics of meeting etiquette (preparation and participation, one-on-one versus group meetings, inviting and introducing speakers, preparing visual aids, agendas and minutes).

Plan and/or participate in a community service project.

Demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Demonstrate creativity by asking challenging questions and applying innovative procedures and methods.

Model work readiness traits required for success in the workplace including integrity, honesty, accountability, punctuality, time management and respect for diversity.

Develop an idea for a product or service based on a need.

Explain how to produce the product.

Determine the price of a product.

Evaluate the quality of a product or service.

Determine how the product or service will be delivered to the customer.

Describe product support best practices.

Define the four Ps of marketing (product, price, place, promotion). 

Apply ethics to demonstrate trustworthiness.