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How to recognize and deal with barriers

Life is full of obstacles.Some are good and some are bad.And no matter what you do to try to prevent them, you will always encounter some kind of trial or tribulations that may make you wonder why you even bother.The same is true in business.No matter how hard you try, you will always have to face barriers.But don't get discouraged.It's something everyone deals with.The trick is knowing how to recognize a barrier when you see it approaching and then learning how to deal with it.This article will attempt to teach you how to do just that: recognize and deal with barriers in business.

First of all, let's list the kinds of barriers you might encounter in business.There are many diverse types.

- Cultural barriers? these kinds of barriers may come whenever you or your company are doing business with foreigners.They may also come if you have an employee or customer that happens to be a member of another culture.
- Inter-company barriers? these kinds of barriers may come whenever you or your company are having problems within your company.These may be problems with employees, the direction of the company, the management, etc.
- Competitive barriers? these kinds of barriers come when you are struggling with your company's competition.It may be that the competition is stealing away your customers or your product ideas.
- Communication barriers? these kinds of barriers come when you or your company is struggling with communication.This can be inter-company related or it can be external.It may be due to some lack of information technology or simply a communication problem.

Once you've realized that your company has a problem, you need to decide where it fits on the list of barriers.It may be that it doesn't fit on any of the barriers listed and that you have a more specific problem in your company.Either way, you need to define the problem.Then you must search out the cause of the problem.For example, let's pretend that your company's competition is consistently releasing products very similar to your own, just before you're about to release your product.It could be that you have a "spy" in your company.Maybe one of your employees is selling your company's trade secrets to the competition.This barrier, once discovered, is fairly easily removed: simply fire the person who was snitching to the other company.

Here's another example.Let's pretend that your company has been working with another company in Japan.You have been trying to convince them to buy the rights to manufacture your product in Japan.There's been plenty of open dialogue and communication.You feel like things are going well and that they should sign any day.So you plan a trip to Japan for the final signing.Everything has been determined except for the final selling price.You set up an appointment to meet with the Japanese executives.You name a price for your product.They say nothing.You name another price, slightly lower than before.They still say nothing.You're starting to wonder what the problem is-are they thinking of backing out?So, in desperation, you name a final price, one that is much, much lower than you wanted to sell at.The Japanese executives finally turn around and walk out of the room.You're baffled.What's the problem? Actually, there is no problem.You just didn't understand the culture of Japanese business.You didn't realize that meeting in the boardroom was simply a formality.In actuality, the discussion of the price of the offer would take place after the appointment in a restaurant or other less-formal situation.If you had simply done some research on potential cultural barriers, you would have known not to offer your final price in the boardroom, but simply wait until lunch.

Being able to identify barriers is an essential part of business.And being able to deal with them when the come is even more essential.Take some time; do some research and hopefully you'll be able to avoid major problems that may come your way.

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