Stevens alumna and professor introduce concept of virtual distance in groundbreaking book
Study asserts there are definite costs to working in a Virtual Environment
HOBOKEN, N.J. ― Karen Sobel Lojeski, a Stevens Institute of Technology Ph.D. alumna, and, Richard R. Riley, Ph.D., Professor of Management at Stevens, have co-authored the new book, Uniting the Virtual Workforce: Transforming Leadership and Innovation in the Globally Integrated Enterprise. The book, published by John Wiley & Sons as part of its Microsoft Executive Leadership Business series, is being hailed by critics as a groundbreaking work.
“Today, almost all organizations are struggling with the impact that virtualization is having on the workplace,” said Sobel Lojeski, CEO of the consulting firm Virtual Distance International. “But what is lacking is a full comprehension of what the costs of virtualization are. Our book introduces the concept of virtual distance to show businesses that…there are definite costs to doing work in a virtual environment.”
Virtual distance is a concept describing a new type of psychological distance that results from people interacting mainly through the media. The book reveals myths about collaboration in the digital age and reports new data to show how this trend can also affect what is valued in employees—innovation, high performance and leadership.
Uniting the Virtual Workforce provides professional advice on how to improve results, heighten originality, and boost leader-effectiveness. It also contains case studies and is essential reading for business managers and executives.
For more information please contact Karen Sobel Lojeski at klojeski@virtualdistance.com.
About the Authors
Karen Sobel Lojeski, Ph..D, is CEO of Virtual Distance International, a consulting firm specializing in measuring and managing the impact of virtual distance in the workforce; a contributing writer to CIOInsight.com; and a popular speaker on Virtual Distance and the impact it has on today's workplace.
Richard R. Reilly, Ph.D., is a Professor of Management at the Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management at Stevens and Chief Technology Officer at Virtual Distance International. He is the co-author of Blockbusters: The Five Keys to Developing Great New Products.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.
Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,040 undergraduate and 3,085 graduate students, and a worldwide online enrollment of 2,250, with a full-time tenured/tenure-track faculty of 140 and more than 200 full-time special faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.
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