Four Ramp Differential
Four Ramp Differential
Today, most companies across the globe are dealing with virtual teams due to minimizing costs or outsourcing the best professions. These people rely on internet services to communicate hence saving money and time that would have been wasted on airfare. Even though a company cuts down on finances, there are challenges brought about by the distance among members. As virtual teams increase in number, there is the need to set up management programs to ensure their success hence the RAMP and Differentiator models. Executives rely on these strategies to train and nature their virtual employees, therefore solving some of the challenges faced by virtualized offices.
Differentiators are features and attributes of a company’s product or service that help it beat its competitors in the marketplace (Saylor, 2019). These differentiators are similar, but the opposite of those used by onsite organizations as they are customized to bridge the gap of distance. For a virtual team to be a top performer, they are lead differently, decisions are arrived at differently, trust is built differently, and communication is done differently. When it comes to leadership, virtual teams require a manager instead of a facilitator. Facilitators act more like supervisors in onsite organizations. However, virtual teams need a manager to give clear and concise directions by removing all ambiguity. Team leaders are expected to formalize their roles as well as those of others and ensure that everyone sticks to their positions. The smallest shift in roles could reduce the quality of work from a virtual team. Decision making as a differentiator is another aspect that is vital to the success of a virtual team. Team managers are expected to observe the cultures of their members and exercise different decision-making options at every stage. Leaders need to make the right decisions to increase trust in the organization which is fostered by excellent communication.
Trust and communication are the other two most important differentiators that enable a team to maintain its efficiency. Trust in virtual teams is equated to reliability. Leaders are expected to concentrate on creating a highly defined process where team members deliver specific results in the repeated sequence (Meyer, 2010). After two to three cycles, trust is established due to reliability. Members who portray the ability to deliver the required results successfully are considered to be reliable. Communication for virtual teams is mostly a challenge as it is less influential as compared to face to face. When team leaders perform video conferences, it is essential they move their bodies instead of remaining rigid. Walking around and moving arms are some of the tricks to keep the virtual team interested in communication.
The RAMP model is designed to serve as a roadmap for virtual teams and their leaders as it provides practical steps to accelerate performance. The four components of the RAMP include Relationships, Accountability, Motivation, and Process and Purpose. For relationships, it is advised that teams should focus on creating relationships rather than solely focusing on execution (Lepsinger, 2010). To achieve this, they need to consider communication, trust, and effective conflict resolutions. Examples of making communication possible include making channels that members can use to communicate. Trust between the members is developed through open and honest communication where are accessible and responsive. It is also essential that members recognize their diversity and stay open to differences in ideas. Accountability focuses on members knowing their responsibilities and taking account of the decisions they make knowing the consequences that would arise from them. Examples to improve accountability involve ensuring members understand their roles and that of others, clarifying expectations, and keeping to commitments. Through proper relationships and responsibility, virtual teams are one step nearer to being top-performers.
Motivation and process and purpose are the other two elements of the RAMP model that steer a virtual team towards excellence. Motivation focuses on making members motivated towards high performance where members are willing to put extra effort to achieve team objectives. Examples to exercise motivation include involving members in decision making, removing obstacles that may hinder performance, and reminding the members of the bigger picture they are working towards. Process and purpose involve establishing transparent procedures and goals for virtual teams. The members must learn the tasks they are given contribute to the success of the organization. Examples of fostering purpose and process include ensuring the team has adequately resourced to attain the objective, identification of responsibilities, and development of operational guidelines. Though these examples, motivation and process and purpose are easy to accomplish for the team to be a top performer.
In conclusion, RAMP and differentiator components allow organizations to manage virtual teams without many challenges. These models focus on trust, autonomy, collaboration, motivation, and communication as the critical aspects of their success. Through managing how a team operates in terms of performance and relationships managers can worry less about results. Organizations are able to proceed with operations without the need of an onsite office or traditional approaches. The four ramp differential is the key to maintain the ever-growing virtual office.
References
Saylor. (2019). The Five Elements Of Strategy. Retrieved from https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_international-business/s14-04-the-five-elements-of-strategy.html
Meyer, E. (2010). The Four Keys to Success With Virtual Teams. Retieved from https://www.forbes.com/2010/08/19/virtual-teams-meetings-leadership-managing-cooperation.html#73437bf730cc
Lepsinger, R. (2010). Virtual Team Success: A Practical Guide for Working And Leading from A Distance (p. 75), John Wiley & Sons.
