Michael Alan Sacks is a faculty member at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, where he has been teaching for over 20 years.
Michael Sacks has an impressive academic history, with a B.A. in Sociology from University of California, Santa Barbara (1993), an M.S. in Organization Behavior and Sociology from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management (1996), and a Ph.D. in Organization Behavior and Sociology also from Kellogg (2001).
Currently, Dr. Sacks holds positions as Professor in the Practice of Organization & Management at Goizueta, Professor of Sociology (by courtesy) at Emory College, and Faculty Director of Woodruff Leadership Academy and Woodruff Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Sacks previously served as Vice Provost for University Strategies at Emory (2015-2017) and Interim Associate Dean and Director of Evening MBA Program at Goizueta (2008-2009). Further, Dr. Sacks held visiting professorships at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, WU Vienna, Helsinki School of Economics, and HEC Paris.
Sacks designs and delivers custom negotiation training programs for corporate clients, customizing these programs based on client needs. Some of his clients include Microsoft, Toyota, Delta Airlines, United Parcel Service (UPS), Federal Reserve, and The American Bankers Association. Further, Dr. Sacks consults on topics such as negotiations, organizational change, and strategic thinking.
Michael Sacks’s research interests include negotiations and conflict resolution, leadership development, organizational culture and firm performance, organizational change, strategic alignment, strategic planning, and expert witness.
Sacks has presented papers at international conferences and published his research in several international journals, including Negotiation Journal and American Behavioral Scientist. His research delves into the topic of how entrepreneurs use social capital to negotiate economic opportunities.
His work has been supported by grants from the Dispute Resolution Research Center, the Heizer Center for Entrepreneurship, the MacArthur Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Additionally, Dr. Sacks has authored book chapters in encyclopedias on negotiations, decision-making, and entrepreneurship, including:
He has also developed negotiation case studies and curricula from a behavioral perspective.
At Emory University, Dr. Sacks teaches courses including Negotiations and Dispute Resolution, Leading Organizations and Strategy, Leading People and Organizations, and Leading and Managing Change. Specifically in business negotiations, Professor Sacks has extensive experience and expertise, teaching at MBA, EMBA and BBA levels.
Sacks teaches negotiations from a behavioral perspective, using simulations to promote learning by doing. Students learn how to manage conflicts with competence, fairness, and sensitivity, with individual feedback. His teaching style integrates leadership topics with organizational culture and strategy execution. Specifically, Professor Sacks takes an applied, practical approach integrating negotiations with leadership, strategy and organizational behavior.
Michael Sacks participates in academic and service activities, with titles such as Academic Director of Woodruff Leadership Academy, Faculty Director of Healthcare Leadership partnership programs with Emeritus and Emory Executive Education, Co-Director of Emory VR Negotiation experimental zone initiative, and Faculty Director of multiple custom and open enrollment programs: Emory Executive Development, Goizueta Business School.
Michael Sacks has been featured in popular news outlets, with articles such as:
