Lesson Introduction

Overview of the Business Management and Administration Career Cluster

Business Management and Administration Career Cluster logo
The Business Management and Administration Career Cluster overlaps every other career cluster. Consequently, it covers a wide variety of industries and occupations. Careers in this cluster deal with all aspects of maintaining a business, including developing business plans, obtaining funds, hiring and developing staff, monitoring the competition, and promoting the business’s services or products.

Career Pathways

This cluster has six career pathways, which include hundreds of career options:

  • Administrative and Information Support
  • Business Analysis
  • Business Financial Management and Accounting
  • Human Resources
  • Management
  • Marketing

Teacher Resources

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To help students learn more about careers in business management and administration, download and distribute the Business Management and Administration College and Career Planning Guide. The guide makes an excellent critical reading assignment for students enrolled in a practicum course in this career cluster.

WBL Experiences

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The Practicum in Business Management is the only practicum in the Business Management and Administration Career Cluster. Be sure to review the related TEKS for the course before you create the outline of training.

Students participating in business management practicums are expected to use business technology and technical skills such as word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and database software to perform work responsibilities. They also are expected to take into consideration the legal, managerial, marketing, financial, ethical, and international dimensions of business to make appropriate business decisions.

When developing an individual training plan, you may want to draw from other field-specific TEKS that match the work site learning experience.

Examples

  • Mario Gepeto is in the Practicum in Business Management course. He will be working at a bank. Mario’s training plan might include TEKS from Banking and Financial Services.
  • Lilah Ornelas, a student in the Practicum in Business Management course, will be working at an insurance office. Lilah’s training plan might include TEKS from Insurance Operations or Statistics and Risk Management.
  • Randy Tatunay is also in the Business Management cluster. He will be working in a software company writing code for automated teller machines (ATMs). Randy’s training plan might include TEKS from Telecommunications and Networking.

 


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If you haven’t already done so, take a moment to bookmark the TEKS for Business Management.

Course Prerequisites

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The Practicum in Business Management can be taken for two or three credits. The course is designed to give grade 12 students supervised practical application of previously studied knowledge and skills. The two prerequisites for this practicum are
  • Touch System Data Entry and
  • Business Management.

These are recommended but not required to give local education agencies (LEAs) flexibility in designing business-related programs of study and coherent sequences.

Legal and Safety Considerations

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You should always discuss safety and legal considerations with training sponsors when developing a student's training plan. Typically, the responsibilities for these considerations are organized as follows:
  • Training sponsors provide job-specific safety training.
  • Teacher-coordinators are responsible for providing general safety instruction to all students enrolled in the course and for ensuring that all training occurs according to schedule.
  • Teachers may assign students to research and report on specific safety and legal considerations for their job or industry.

Because the Business Management and Administration Career Cluster includes a wide range of occupations and industries, always review the current versions of Child Labor Bulletin No. 101 (WH-1330) and Child Labor Bulletin No. 102 (WH-1295) to see if your students will be working in a hazardous occupation. You learned about and bookmarked these bulletins in Section 5. Revisit them as necessary to refresh your memory.

Pre-Employment Requirements

When coordinating a practicum, it is also important to learn whether a student's training station will require any special testing or permits prior to employment. For occupations in the Business Management and Administration Career Cluster, some of the most common pre-employment requirements are:

  • background checks;
  • OSHA 10-hour training for general industry; and
  • non-disclosure agreements regarding proprietary information.

Curriculum Resources

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To promote educational excellence in career and technical education, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) launched the Texas CTE Resource Center.

 

 

 

 


Take a moment to bookmark the Texas CTE Resource Center website. Later, be sure to explore curriculum guidelines and instructional resources for the Business Management and Administration Career Cluster.

CTSOs

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Career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) provide students with additional opportunities to acquire and demonstrate skills and abilities related to their chosen career field.

You should be familiar with several CTSOs to help students find the organization that best meets their interests. The CTSOs that are most related to careers in the Business Management and Administration Career Cluster are listed below.

You can also direct students to the nine state-recognized CTSOs listed in Section 10, Lesson 10.5: Integrating Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) Activities.


Take a few moments to bookmark the CTSO websites below to explore later. 

Business Professionals of America (BPA)
DECA, Texas Association
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
Texas Technology Student Association (TSA)

 

 

Professional Associations

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Get involved in at least one career and technical education (CTE) professional association. They are excellent sources of career cluster-specific teaching tools, ideas, networking, and mentors.

The professional associations most closely related to Business Management and Administration are Texas Business and Technology Educators Association (TBTEA) and Marketing Educators of Texas.

Given the broad scope and diversity of business management, you may also want to consider membership in other CTE professional associations recognized by TEA.


Take a moment to bookmark the websites below to explore later.

Texas Business and Technology Educators Association (TBTEA)
Marketing Educators of Texas

View the entire list of TEA-recognized state and national CTE professional associations at the link below.

Professional Associations for CTE Educators

Lesson Conclusion