PBL Competitive Events

The National Awards Program recognizes excellence in a number of business and career-related areas. PBL competitive events also prepare college students for the workforce by expanding their classroom experience with real-world scenarios. 

 

NEW AND MODIFIED EVENTS AND PROCEDURE CHANGES FOR 2020-21 

This is an overview of the competitive event changes that will take place in 2020-21.  As we get individual competitive event page updates finalized, information on this page will be updated. 

 

Please note the following procedural changes that relate to all competitive events that are part of the PBL National Awards Program: 

  • All members and advisers are responsible for reading and following competitive event guidelines. 
  • If competitors are late for a competitive event, there are no guarantees they will get to compete.  Competitive event schedules cannot be changed.  PLEASE NOTE that competitive events start before the opening session of NLC. 
  • Competitors may be disqualified if they violate competitive event guidelines. 
  • Five points may be deducted for each instance of not following guidelines. 
  • No animals (except authorized service animals) will be allowed for use in any competitive events. 
  • Please note that Internet reliability at any conference venue cannot be guaranteed.  Always have a backup plan in case Internet connections go down. 
  • Participants using laptops or other devices that do not have a VGA port or HDMI port will need to provide their own adapters. 

 

  • ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY
    Category: Production & Objective Test
    Type: Individual
    Modified: Combine production test events Administrative Technology and Computer Applications into one new production test event. 

 

  • DIGITAL MEDIA
    Category: Presentation with Equipment
    Type: Individual or Team
    Name Change: Previously known as Computer Animation. 

 

  • FUTURE BUSINESS EXECUTIVE
    Category: Interview
    Type: Individual
    Modified: Application materials will now be submitted for prejudging by the 2nd Friday in May. 

 

  • JOB INTERVIEW
    Category: Interview
    Type: Individual
    Modified: Application materials will now be submitted for prejudging by the 2nd Friday in May. 

 

ROLE PLAY EVENTS 

  • Role play event finalists will now receive the case study the night before the event–judges will be given a set of questions to ask about each event.  
  • These events will now be categorized as Collaborative Objective Test & Presentation with Equipment.   
  • This modification will not apply to Impromptu Speaking, Client Service, Help Desk, or Parliamentary Procedure.
     

 

COMPETITIVE EVENT TOPICS FOR 2020-21 

 

  • BUSINESS ETHICS
    Should businesses be held responsible for implementing practices to protect the environment?  Discuss both the positive and negative implications of holding businesses responsible for implementing practices to protect the environment.  

 

  • BUSINESS LAW
    Research a court case involving a corporate merger and analyze the findings. Do you agree with the outcome of the case? Why or why not? 

 

  • BUSINESS PRESENTATION
    Transformational leadership inspires teams to identify, create, and lead change through inspiration. Develop a presentation describing the characteristics of transformational leadership. Provide examples of business change led by transformational business leaders. 

 

 

  • DESKTOP PUBLISHING
    You are responsible for creating an informational campaign about social responsibility issues facing today’s companies. You will create an informational presentation. DO NOT USE Microsoft PowerPoint. Create two additional original artifacts selected from the potential list of artifacts below: 
    • Brochure 
    • Poster 
    • Newsletter 

 

  • DIGITAL MEDIA
    Utilize computer animation to create an informational video on leading business sustainability practices.  

 

  • EMERGING BUSINESS ISSUES
    Supporting and encouraging a culture of innovation is one of the keys to business success in today’s environment. Discuss practices utilized by firms to support and encourage innovation. Discuss the positive outcomes firms must address that result from supporting continuous innovation. Discuss the negative outcomes firms must address that result from supporting continuous innovation. 

 

  • FUTURE BUSINESS EDUCATOR
    Create a unit plan for a middle school computer applications course.  The plan should include a pre-assessment, assessments, activities, and other ancillary materials that may be needed.  Assessments must be original in nature and not copied from published textbook materials. 

 

  • SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE
    Knowledge of current business trends is critical for graduating students.  Create a social media campaign describing the top 5 business trends for a selected industry of your choice. Conduct research on the selected industry and associated trends. Plan for a minimum of three different social media platforms that educate your peers on the identified trends. *No new social media account(s) should be created for the campaign without written consent from the entity.  

 

  • STRATEGIC ANALYSIS AND DECISION MAKING
    Western Digital Corp. is headquartered in San Jose, California. “Western Digital Corporation (“Western Digital”) is a leading developer, manufacturer, and provider of data storage devices and solutions that address the evolving needs of the information technology (“IT”) industry and the infrastructure that enables the proliferation of data in virtually every other industry. We create environments for data to thrive. We are driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver the possibilities of data.” (Western Digital Corp. 10K, August 27, 2019).  Utilize a subset of the following strategic tools to develop a recommended strategy to take advantage of the strengths of Western Digital Corp. or negate the weaknesses of Western Digital Corp. You will present the recommended strategy and the analysis utilized to develop the strategy. Tool options include but are not limited to: 
    • External Analysis: Macro Environment, Industry Environment, Competitive Analysis 
    • Internal Analysis: Financial Analysis, Value Chain Analysis, SWOT Analysis 
    • Strategy Formulation: Vision, Mission, Goals, Objective Analysis, Market Demands Analysis, Business Strategy Options Development 
    • Data analytics 
    • Strategy Recommendation 
    • Strategic Recommendation Implementation Issues 

 

  • WEBSITE DESIGN
    Research current trends in environmental responsibility and sustainability. Develop a website that educates your peers regarding environmental responsibility and sustainability. As part of the website design, develop and advertise a potential public event supporting environmental responsibility and sustainability. 

 

COMPLETE COMPETITIVE EVENT GUIDELINES FOR 2020-21

 

RATING SHEETS FOR 2020-21 (IN PROGRESS) 

 

FORMAT GUIDE (IN PROGRESS)