Marketing
Operations
Worth 6 of 100 questions at area level, 5 at state and 4 at ICDC.
From the knowledge base
Source passages for this area.
HOSPITALITY & TOURISM
Cluster Exam §23 · pages 23–25
23. HOSPITALITY & TOURISM Hospitality should not simply be treated as "marketing for hotels." It has an extremely strong: customer experience + operations + service + information + selling orientation. DECA's career pathways are: Event Management, Lodging, Restaurant Management and Travel & Tourism. 2026–27 Hospitality blueprint Area District Associatio n ICDC Business Law 3 3 2 Communications 5 4 3 Customer Relations 8 9 9 Economics 6 6 5 Emotional Intelligence 9 9 7 Entrepreneurship 1 0 0 Financial Analysis 8 7 7 HR Management 2 1 1 Information Management 14 15 16 Knowledge Management 0 1 1 Marketing 1 1 2 Market Planning 1 1 2 Operations 13 13 13 Pricing 1 1 1 Product/Service Management 6 7 9 Professional Development 8 7 6 Promotion 2 3 3 Quality Management 1 1 1 Risk Management 1 1 2 Selling 7 8 9 Strategic Management 3 2 2 Notice how different this is from Marketing. The largest advanced Hospitality domains are: Information Management Operations Customer Relations Product/Service Management Selling That should shape the entire learning experience.
HOSPITALITY EVENTS
Cluster Exam §25 · pages 26–27
25. HOSPITALITY EVENTS Event Code Focus Principles of Hospitality & Tourism PHT Intro hotels, restaurants, tourism/travel; BAC exam Hotel & Lodging Management Series HLM Hotel/lodging operations, guest service, marketing and management Quick Serve Restaurant Management Series QSRM Fast/quick-service restaurant operations Restaurant & Food Service Management Series RFSM Full-service restaurant/food-service operations Hospitality Services Team Decision Making HTDM Hotel, lodging, convention and food/beverage services Travel & Tourism Team Decision Making TTDM Transportation, tourism, travel services and destinations Hospitality & Tourism Professional Selling HTPS Hospitality/tourism sales Hospitality & Tourism Operations Research HTOR Strategic research project for hospitality/tourism business VBC Hotel Management VBCHM Hotel simulation VBC Restaurant VBCRS Restaurant simulation RFSM specifically involves marketing and management functions in restaurants/food-service businesses. HTDM includes hotels, lodging, convention services and food/beverage services. TTDM applies management and marketing to passenger transportation, tourism, travel services and related operations.
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATION CLUSTER BMA
Cluster Exam §14 · pages 12–13
14. BUSINESS MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATION CLUSTER BMA concerns making organizations operate effectively. DECA describes BMA professionals as responsible for ensuring organizational functions operate efficiently and meet short- and long-term objectives. Career pathways include administrative services, business information management, general management, HR management and operations management. BMA instructional areas The current DECA framework includes: Business Law, Communications, Compliance, Customer Relations, Economics, Emotional Intelligence, Entrepreneurship, Financial Analysis, Human Resources Management, Information Management, Knowledge Management, Marketing, Operations, Professional Development, Project Management, Quality Management, Risk Management and Strategic Management. 2026–27 BMA exam blueprint Area District Associatio n ICDC Business Law 5 5 5 Communications 7 6 6 Customer Relations 2 2 1 Economics 6 5 4 Emotional Intelligence 9 8 6 Entrepreneurship 1 0 0 Financial Analysis 7 6 5 HR Management 1 0 0 Information Management 7 6 6 Knowledge Management 6 7 8 Marketing 1 1 1 Operations 21 24 26 Professional Development 6 5 4 Project Management 6 7 8 Quality Management 3 4 5 Risk Management 4 5 5 Strategic Management 8 9 10 The pattern is obvious: BMA becomes increasingly operations/strategy-oriented as competitors advance. ICDC BMA gives roughly one-quarter of the entire test to operations alone . Your adaptive system should reflect that.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUSTER
Cluster Exam §17 · pages 16–17
17. ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUSTER Entrepreneurship should be modeled differently from management. Management asks: "How do we operate an organization effectively?" Entrepreneurship asks: "How do we recognize an opportunity, create value, build a viable organization and grow it under uncertainty?" DECA describes Entrepreneurship Series competitors as recognizing opportunities, determining needs, identifying markets, using marketing research, identifying capital sources and applying management skills. 2026–27 Entrepreneurship blueprint Area District Associatio n ICDC Business Law 4 4 3 Channel Management 3 3 3 Communications 1 0 1 Customer Relations 1 1 1 Economics 3 3 2 Emotional Intelligence 6 6 4 Entrepreneurship 14 13 14 Financial Analysis 10 9 11 HR Management 5 4 4 Information Management 4 3 2 Marketing 1 1 1 Marketing-Information Management 2 3 2 Market Planning 5 6 6 Operations 13 13 14 Pricing 2 3 2 Product/Service Management 4 4 4 Professional Development 5 5 4 Promotion 6 7 8 Quality Management 1 1 1 Risk Management 2 3 4 Selling 1 1 1 Strategic Management 7 7 8 Entrepreneurship is unusually broad. Students need meaningful knowledge of: entrepreneurship + finance + operations + strategy + marketing.
IBP is not “EIB + a country slide”
20-Page Written Events §59 · pages 304–304
59. IBP is not “EIB + a country slide” This should be drilled into the AI. An international plan needs to demonstrate that the selected market changes: the product, operations, regulation, pricing, distribution, marketing, financing, or competitive strategy. Otherwise the country is decorative.
BOR family
20-Page Written Events §22 · pages 275–276
22. BOR family Events: BOR — Business Services Operations Research Business/consumer service companies. ( DECA ) BMOR — Buying & Merchandising Operations Research Retail/wholesale businesses. ( DECA ) FOR — Finance Operations Research Banks, accounting firms, investment firms, insurance and financial-service organizations. ( DECA ) HTOR — Hospitality & Tourism Operations Research Hotels, food/beverage, travel, attractions and hospitality organizations. ( DECA ) SEOR — Sports & Entertainment Marketing Operations Research Sports, entertainment, leisure, recreation and related businesses. ( DECA ) They share one annual topic and essentially the same structural/rubric architecture. 23. 2026–27 BOR annual topic This year's topic is centered on: researching what drives customer loyalty and repeat engagement , then creating a strategic plan to strengthen retention through mechanisms such as loyalty programs, personalized experiences or relationship-building. Current Ontario DECA's 2026–27 page reproduces the national topic. ( DECA Ontario ) This should be: BOR_topic: season = 2026-27 Never make the AI use the 2025–26 CSR topic when grading a 2026–27 project.