Building Consensus

The processes through which we construct consensusare important since they can contribute both to destructivegroupthink as well as rationally justified consensus. Taking Searle'sspeech act theory and Habermas' theory on communicative action as astarting point this study explores how individuals contribute to theconstruction of consensus. In addition practical tools which can beused to help individuals become aware of their contribution toconsensus as well as to create rationally justified consensus areprovided. Our account of these processes is developed through a case study ona Swedish non-governmental organization: AIESEC Sweden. This bookprovides insights for anyone interested in learning more aboutteam dynamics opinion creation and the ways in which individualsattempt to influence the construction of consensus in a team setting.