2008, Volume 11, Issue 2
CommentsSubmission Guidelines
The Graziadio Business Report is a CASE 2006 Silver Award winner.
The GBR has been approved for inclusion in the 11th edition of Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Management.
Mission Statement
The Graziadio Business Report is an online journal that delivers relevant business information and analysis for business, government, and non-profit managers.
The content of the GBR reflects the school’s mission and emphasis on values-centered leadership, innovation and change, a global orientation, and the advancement of contemporary business practice.
- Target Audience
- Dates and Deadlines
- Who May Submit
- How to Submit
- Article Guidelines
- Acceptance Process
- Copyright
- Reviewers' Guidelines
- Contact Us
Target Audience
Readership of the Graziadio Business Report includes:
- Business practitioners
- Senior executives
- Government and non-profit managers
- University faculty, students, and alumni
Because our readership is global, potential authors should avoid topics and references that only target small groups.
Dates and Deadlines
The Graziadio Business Report is published four times a year.
Issues
1st Draft Deadlines
Publication Dates
2008
Issue 2
January 15
April 15
Issue 3
March 15
July 15
Issue 4
June 15
October 15
2009
Issue 1
August 15 [2008]
January 15
Issue 2
December 15 [2008]
April 15
Issue 3
March 15
July 15
Issue 4
June 15
October 15
2010 Issue 1
August 15 [2009]
January 15
Who May Submit
The Graziadio Business Report has open submissions and is predominantly written by:
- Business school faculty
- Business practitioners
- Other persons knowledgeable in business topics
How to Submit
Articles must be submitted as Microsoft Word documents using Arial or Times New Roman size 12 font via email to one of the editors listed below:
Nancy Ellen Dodd, MPW, MFA, Editor
ndodd@pepperdine.eduDanielle L. Scott, Associate Editor
dscott@pepperdine.edu
Article Guidelines
Scope of Article
Articles in the GBR make a unique contribution to business practice, therefore, articles must go beyond merely restating conventional wisdom or textbook knowledge.
Articles should:
- Provide practical and relevant information on how to deal with business situations and problems
- Feature an applied focus and answer the "so what" question
- Address the implications/ impact for the business practitioner
- Provide examples to show the success or failure of practical applications of business concepts
Topics for articles may include (but are not limited to):
- Translating new academic research into practitioner applications
- Organizing and synthesizing information from diverse sources about business issues
- Alerting readers to new knowledge that may impact their businesses
- Extending a debate in a new direction
- Presenting new empirical data and explaining how it may impact GBR's business practitioner audience
Analyses of current issues or changes and practical applications in the business environment will also be considered. However, "editorial opinion" articles are not appropriate for GBR.
Article Length
Articles should be limited to 2,000 words.
Only papers submitted as Microsoft Word documents using Arial or Times New Roman size 12 font will be accepted.
Writing Style
- The writing style should be active and non-technical.
- Anecdotes and examples as well as illustrations, such as graphs, tables, and pie charts are helpful.
- The writing style should be more like that of a business magazine (e.g. Fortune) than an academic journal or textbook.
- Introductory paragraphs are particularly important with this audience.
- Authors should not begin with a traditional academic literature review. We encourage you to review current GBR articles to get a better sense of our style.
Style Guidelines and References
- The GBR style is based on the Chicago Manual of Style.
- Specific ideas, quotations, data, facts, or analyses taken from other sources must be referenced as they would be in an academic work.
- The citation style used in legal writing is currently acceptable, although citations should be listed in endnotes rather than footnotes.
- References appear as endnotes rather than page footnotes.
Acceptance Process
First Draft Edit
Manuscripts are reviewed both for content and writing style. Special emphasis will be placed on appropriateness and applications for the business practitioner.
If your article is deemed appropriate for the GBR, editors may choose to work with authors to:
- Edit
- Refine the article’s direction
- Focus the article
Double-Blind Peer Review
Once the manuscript meets the basic guidelines for the Graziadio Business Report, the article is forwarded for review by two members of our Editorial Review Board—one academic and one practitioner (double-blind process).
View the members of our Editorial Review Board here.
Reviewers may offer comments and suggestions for further revision or for possible rejection. The editors will then send a rejection to the author/s or an acceptance of the manuscript along with suggestions for revisions.
The GBR currently rejects 20 to 30 percent of all articles submitted.
The primary goal of these reviews is to identify ways to develop, strengthen, and polish a manuscript in order to make sure that articles in the Graziadio Business Report meet a standard of excellence that reflects positively on the publication and the author/s.
Final Edit
When all substantive issues have been addressed to the satisfaction of the author, reviewers, and editors, some additional final copy-editing may occur.
The Graziadio Business Report retains final editorial control of all articles. Once an article has been accepted for publication, the editors will determine the date for that article’s publication.
Evaluation Criterior
Editors and Editorial Board Members of the Graziadio Business Report will evaluate each article on its:
- Application to the broad business practitioner audience: Will the business practitioner gain useful knowledge that will help in understanding the business environment, in making business decisions, or in implementing business processes?
- Intellectual contribution: Is there something new either in the ideas or the application of the article? Is the material accurate? Is it as current as it can be?
- Appropriate citations for quotations, statements of specific information, dates and attributions of information downloaded from the Internet, cases, etc: While GBR is not a traditional academic journal, documenting and acknowledging sources used in the GBR is of paramount importance.
- Writing style: Papers should be non-technical and, generally, written in the active, rather than the passive voice.
Copyright
The Graziadio Business Report holds the copyright for each issue and the articles contained therein, however, authors have permission to use their articles in their classrooms.
Pepperdine University's copyright of the journal allows the university to protect authors from plagiarism and other misuses.
Reviewers' Guidelines
Your input is important in helping us produce a quality journal. As you review the submitted GBR article, please keep the following general criteria in mind:
- Please remember the Graziadio Business Report is not written for an academic audience, and therefore does not require the same rigorous time commitment to review as a more lengthy journal article directed to an academic readership. Therefore, we are not looking for a lengthy review, rather a synopsis that will note any flaws and will help the author see ways to improve the paper.
- Articles should address the broad business audience. Currently more than 25 percent of our readership is from outside of the U.S.
- The target audience for Graziadio Business Report is the business practitioner. Please ensure that the article addresses that audience.
- Is there a good reason the business practitioner should read this piece? Will he/she gain useful knowledge that will help in understanding the business environment, in making business decisions, or in implementing business processes? Many articles will include specific suggestions to business practitioners, but some will not. If a given article does have such suggestions, are they reasonable? Please provide specific suggestions and give examples for improvement of a given article.
- Does the article make an intellectual contribution of some type? Is there something new either in the ideas or the application of the article? Is the material accurate? Is it as current as it can be?
- Are there appropriate citations for quotations, statements of specific information, dates and attributions of information downloaded from the Internet, cases, etc.? While GBR is not a traditional academic journal, documenting and acknowledging sources used in the GBR is of paramount importance.
- The writing style is non-technical and is written generally in the active rather than the passive voice. It is most helpful to list the strengths and to prioritize any weaknesses in the article. Such specificity will aid the author if rewrites are necessary.
- Authors are given 2,000-word limits, which narrows what they may include in the article. Please keep this word limit in mind when making suggestions for additions to the article. If information needs to be added, specify which sections of the article the author should consider cutting.
- Reviews are to be returned to the GBR editorial staff electronically. Reviewers may use the tracking feature in Microsoft Word or provide a separate synopsis with comments. Reviews will be forwarded to the author without the reviewer’s being identified. Positive comments as well as questions and suggestions for improvement are appreciated. In making suggestions for changes to strengthen the article, please be specific. If the reviewer believes that the paper is not appropriate in its present form, please, if at all possible, make suggestions for a "revise and resubmit" version of the article.
Thank you for participating and helping to make the Graziadio Business Report a quality publication.
