2.3.4. Team workThe benefits of tea

2.3.4. Team work
The benefits of teamwork include the empowerment of employees,
avoiding duplication of effort and obtaining collective
knowledge (Matthews et al., 2004). In the environmental management
literature, Beard and Rees (2000, p.27) suggest that teams
can be used to ‘generate ideas, enhance learning experiences, explore
issues, identify conflict and focus action to enhance understanding
about why, what, how, where and when to pursue the best practicable
environmental options’.
Most environmental management tasks require collective work
by all employees across the various functions of an organisation. This
approach ensures that all relevant functions take part in the environmental
management processes, pool their knowledge and apply
this in tackling environmental issues (Avadikyan et al., 2001). In
particular, cross-functional teams are necessary to guarantee goal
congruence and employee commitment towards environmental
improvement (Jabbour and Santos, 2008; Savely et al., 2007). In such
teams, the performance is collective and the skills are complementary,
which assists organisations in making sure that environmental
tasks are carried out in a more effective and efficient manner.
In addition, enhancing environmental management process
effectiveness requires continuous learning and commitment across the organisation (Daily and Huang, 2001). Team members access
and gather information from different functions and share work
practices and experiences with other team members. The greater
sharing of knowledge and experience leads to a stronger organisational
environmental learning process, which in turn results in
higher employee motivation and commitment towards environmental
management processes (Llorens Montes, 2005; Avadikyan
et al., 2001).
Jabbour and Santos (2008) found that teamwork had a positive
impact on environmental management processes and Massoud
et al. (2010) concluded that teamwork is a critical factor in implementing
environmental management initiatives.
H4. The extent of teamwork in environmental management is positively
related to the effectiveness of environmental management
processes.
2.3.5. The link of performance to rewards
An inadequate linkage of performance to rewards is considered
to be a barrier to achieving effective performance (Rynes et al.,
2005; Chan, 2004). The link of performance to rewards is a
crucial factor influencing the effectiveness of environmental management
processes (Jabbour and Santos, 2008; Daily and Huang,
2001). Daily and Huang (2001) suggested that a reward system
which reflects corporate commitment to the importance of environmental
performance can motivate and increase the commitment
by employees to be environmentally responsible. Aligning
rewards with environmental practices enables organisations to
retain and motivate good employees, initiate changes in employee
attitudes, and encourage the development of environmental
knowledge and skills which helps to achieve the environmental
objectives of an organisation (Jabbour and Santos, 2008; Jerez-
Gomez et al., 2005).
H5. The extent of the link of performance to rewards is positively
related to the effectiveness of environmental management processes.