HESLS presents discussion on ‘Power Dynamics in Negotiation’

The Harvard Extension Service and Leadership Society (HESLS), in conjunction with the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, presented “Power Dynamics In Negotiations” on Saturday (May 3).

The event, which featured a diverse lineup of speakers, incorporated two panels: “Personal & Financial Negotiations” and “Culture, Ethnicity and Race in Negotiations.”

Despite the inclement weather, approximately 240 people gathered at the Harvard Yenching Institute to hear Jeswald Salacuse, professor of law at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, offer the keynote address.

“Ethnic and racial conflicts are the most difficult to negotiate because they involve identity and the core of who you are,” said Salacuse told the audience.

The HESLS, which serves Harvard’s community of Extension School students who maintain an active interest in public service and leadership, considered this event a “historical first.”

“While organizing and selecting speakers, some leading negotiation scholars at HBS [Harvard Business School] and KSG [Harvard Kennedy School] indicated their personal approval of … this event especially because the topic of race in negotiations is understudied and can be seen as groundbreaking within the field of negotiation theory and practice here at Harvard,” said Andre Bisasor, conference chair and HESLS president. The forum’s topic, he continued, also resonated well with the students.