Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia education professor Laura Bierema has published the first book on organization development theory and practice from a critical feminist perspective.
The book, titled Implementing a Critical Approach to Organization Development is aimed at educators and human resource development professionals who are implementing change on individual, group and organization levels.
“The book adopts a critical perspective that attempts to hold the tensions of doing change work in the midst of competing goals, values and intentions in the foreground,” said Bierema, a professor of adult education/human resource and organizational development in the College of Education.
The book also is the first organization development book written specifically for professionals that provides a “Critical Action Research Model” through a range of interventions and strategies.
The text is the most recent title in the Professional Practices Series from Krieger Publishing Co. The series provides information and strategies on how to make practice more effective for professionals and those they serve. Books are written from a practical viewpoint and provide a forum for instructors, administrators, policymakers, counselors, trainers, instructional designers and other related professionals.
Bierema’s book provides an introduction to organization development theory and practice and addresses the inherent challenges in mitigating competing interests in the process. It argues that the world is in trouble, and prevailing organization practices are creating more debt, exploiting workers, disenfranchising marginalized groups, polluting the world, exploiting natural resources, perpetuating wars and deepening poverty. The book provides a framework and strategies for those committed to practicing responsible organization development that challenges the system, promotes equity and improves the status quo.
Bierema joined the UGA faculty in 2000. She received her doctorate in adult education from UGA, and a master’s degree in labor and industrial relations and a bachelor’s degree in human relations, both from Michigan State University.
For more information about Bierema and the College of Education, see www.coe.uga.edu.
