Research on Mental States of Non-Human Animals

Research on Mental States of Non-Human Animals To what extent does research support the claim that non-human animals, particular chimpanzees, have human-like understanding of mental states? In the last three decades, cognitive approaches to the study of animal behaviour have attracted increasing research attention. Much of this interest has concentrated on social cognition and whether animals understand the mental states of others in the same way humans do. In an attempt to address this question research has predominately focused on non-human primates (hereafter primates), especially chimpanzees. This popularity is probably owing to chimpanzees’ evolutionary relatedness to humans, which is the closest of all the primate species and therefore increases the likelihood that they might share human cognitive abilities. Human mental states are a suite of cognitive abilities which allow us to understand others’ psychological states. One example is theory of mind (ToM) which is the ability to understand that other individuals have beliefs and that such beliefs can be different from your own. This is illustrated by the ‘Smarties Test’ in which an individual is shown a tube of smarties and asked what they think is inside the tube, they correctly infer ‘smarties’ however when the tube is opened it is revealed that the tube contains only pencils. The individual is then asked what another naà ¯ve person would answer if given the same test. If the individual has a ToM they should understand that the naà ¯ve individual will have a false belief about the tube’s contents and therefore answer in the same way, i.e., smarties. Research shows that children under the age of 4 years have not fully developed a ToM and invariably fail the smarties test whereas children above t his age pass the test. Experiments conducted on primates have shown little evidence that they have a ToM. For example, Call and Tomasello (1999) tested chimpanzees, orangutans and children with a non-verbal false belief task. The task involved a series of finding games in which a reward was hidden in one of two identical containers by an adult (the hider), and another adult, who had witnessed the hiding process (the communicator), placed a token on the baited container which acted as a marker to indicate to the subject where the food was hidden. The subjects learnt to use the marker to locate the reward and ignore the marker when they knew it to be incorrect (during visible displacement trials). In the crucial false belief trials, the communicator watched the baiting of the container and then left the area and during the communicator’s absence the hider swapped the location of the containers. When the communicator returned she placed the marker on the container in the location she had seen the rewar d being hidden, which was incorrect, and therefore the communicator had a false belief about where the reward was hidden. To show an understanding of this belief the subjects would have to choose the container which the communicator did not place the marker on. The results showed that children chose the correct location of the reward demonstrating their understanding of the communicator’s false belief whereas none of the apes succeeded in choosing the correct location demonstrating their lack of false belief understanding. Other studies have also failed to find evidence of ToM in primates (for review see Povinelli 2004) and many now think that language is needed for the development of ToM which seems to have led researchers away from studying ToM in primates and other species of animals. Another mental state that has received much research attention is intentionally. Intentionally can be defined as understanding the behaviours of other as intentional, goal directed activities. The first study to address this issue was conducted by Premack and Woodruff (1978). They presented Sarah with videotaped sequences of a human actor in several problem-solving situations that were familiar to Sarah. For example, the actor was depicted looking up toward an out-of-reach banana hanging from the ceiling, or attempting to operate a hose that was unattached to a tap. After Sarah had viewed each problem, she was shown a pair of photographs, one of which depicted the solution to the problem. For instance, in the out-of-reach banana situation, the solution consisted of the actor moving a box under the banana. Overall, Sarah performed well on these tasks from the beginning but Savage-Rumbaugh et al (1978) pointed out that Sarah might have been choosing alternatives based on the simple ass ociations among objects formed from her experiences with caretakers and their behaviour with test items, such hoses and taps. Savage-Rumbaugh et al (1978) analysed each item Sarah was presented with and found that, overall, items for which such associative procedures were most straightforward were the ones on which Sarah performed best. In addition, Savage-Rumbaugh et al (1978) presented two language-trained chimpanzees with a matching-to-sample task in which the chimpanzees were shown, for example, a picture of a key and asked to select between pictures of a box and a padlock. Both chimpanzees performed well above chance in this task and selected the correct alternative in the majority of trials. These results therefore provided an alternative explanation to that of understanding of intention in others. Other research on chimpanzees’ understanding of intentions has produced mixed results. Povinelli et al (1998), for example, tested six chimpanzees who could choose to point to one of two caretakers to provide them with a cup of juice. However, prior to the choice the apes had experience of the caretakers’ behaviour in which one caretaker would accidentally drop the drink on the floor and the other would purposely empty the cup of juice on the floor. The authors reasoned that an understanding of the intentionally of the caretakers would result in the apes choosing the caretaker to provide them with juice who had previously acted with good intention but accidentally spilled the drink. The results showed that the apes made no preference for the ‘clumsy’ caretaker indicating that the apes were unable to understand the experimenters’ intentions. However, Call and Tomasello (2004) argue that there was no motivation to choose between the two caretakers beca use whomever they chose they would receive no juice. This possibility can be tested by repeating the experiment and allowing the caretakers to sometimes drop or purposely spill the drink on some trials but not on others. This would allow the apes to receive juice in some of the trials e.g., 50%, and therefore raise the apes’ motivation whilst maintaining the essence of the experiment. In contrast to the Povinelli et al’s (1998) study, Call et al (2004) found evidence that chimpanzees do show understanding of intentional behaviour in humans. The authors conducted an ‘unwilling’ and ‘unable’ test in which an experimenter would feed an ape a grape through a hole in the Plexiglas window. On some trials the ape would not receive the grape from the experimenter who in one condition would accidentally drop the grape and in a second condition would tease the ape by repeatedly pulling the grape back from the hole. When the apes’ behaviour was analysed it was found that they behaved differently in the two conditions. When the grapes were accidentally dropped the ape remained in the room longer than when the experimenter teased the ape. Moreover, during the teasing condition the apes often showed frustrated behaviour, such as spitting and punching the plexi-glass panel. The authors suggest this demonstrates the apes’ understandi ng of the experimenter’s intentions of being unable to give the grape in one condition and unwilling to give the grape in the other condition. However, it would be interesting to know exactly how the teasing behaviour was executed by the experimenter. For example, if the experimenter used loud vocalisations in the teasing condition but not in the clumsy condition it is possible the apes were just reacting to this rather than the experimenter’s intention. Knowing what others can see is another mental state humans possess and one that chimpanzees have shown evidence in possessing. For example, Hare et al (2001) used a competitive paradigm to test whether a subordinate chimpanzee would take into account how a dominant rival would behave depending if the rival had seen food being baited behind a barrier. The two chimpanzees faced each other across an ape enclosure which had one barrier in the middle of the enclosure. An experimenter hid one piece behind the barrier (on the subordinate’s side) and one piece in the open. In some conditions the dominant saw the reward being placed behind the barrier and in other conditions did not see the food being placed there. After the baiting procedure the subordinate and dominant were then allowed access to rewards. When the subordinate had observed that the dominant had not seen the food being hidden behind the barrier the subordinate would approach the food behind the barrier leaving the domi nant to retrieve the reward that was out in the open. However, when the dominant had seen the food placed behind the barrier the subordinate showed no preference for the food behind the barrier. In a follow-up study Hare et al (2001) extended these findings by repeating the experiment but in some conditions the dominant was switched (after seeing the food being hidden) with another dominant who had not seen the food being hidden. The results showed that the subordinate approached the reward placed behind the barrier more often when the dominant had been switched with the naà ¯ve dominant and the authors suggest that this demonstrates chimpanzees can predict who had seen what. In addition, a control condition ruled out the possibility that the subordinate was acting on simple rules such as preferring food lying close to the barriers. For example, when the opaque barrier was replaced by a transparent barrier, so that the dominant would see the reward even when he had not seen the foo d being placed there, the subordinate’s preference for the food behind the barrier disappeared. Although the above two studies seem to show that chimpanzees understand what others see, several researchers suggest that chimpanzees are using simpler mechanisms to solve the task. Karin-D’Arcy and Povinelli (2002), for example, argue that subordinate chimpanzees might simple prefer food that is next to barriers as this provides some safety from attack by the dominant. The authors repeated Hare et al’s 2002 study and found that subordinate chimpanzees preferred food next to the barrier even when both chimpanzees could see both pieces of food (the barrier was positioned vertically in relation to both chimpanzees). In addition, Povinelli and Vonk (2003) argue that even if the chimpanzees did not have a preference per se for the barriers in Hare et al’s 2002 studies the chimpanzees can understand which food the dominant will be likely to go for without evoking any mental states. For example, behavioural abstraction taken from previous experiences of similar interac tions can be used to predict the dominant’s behaviour. This can occur if the subordinate understands that when the dominant is facing the food the dominant will go towards that food, so use the rule ‘don not go for the food if the dominant is orientated toward the food’. Povinelli and Vonk (2003) further argue that experiments testing mental states in animals will only be of value if the possibility of behavioural abstraction is removed from the experimental equation. The authors therefore advocate that mental attribution can only be tested in chimpanzees and other animals by showing evidence of an individual extrapolating its own experiences to the mental states of others, a theory first put forward by Heyes (1998). Povinelli and Vonk (2003) suggest the following as a suitable experiment to address Heyes’ (1998) idea. First, allow an ape to interact with two buckets, one red and one black. The red bucket is placed over the ape’s head and the ape ca n clearly see its surroundings through the bucket, however when the black bucket is placed over the ape’s head he can see nothing. Now if the ape is confronted with two experimenters, one wearing the black bucket over her head and the other the red bucket over her head, and the ape begs for food only from the experimenter wearing the red bucket then it is likely that the ape is using mental attribution as the only experience the ape has had of the buckets is through its own experience. Povinelli and Vonk (2003) argue that experiments of this nature can provide evidence of mental states and rule out alternative interpretations such as behavioural abstractions. Conclusion The mental states of humans include a suite of cognitive functions which allow us to understand others’ knowledge and beliefs such as theory of mind and intentionally. Many argue that only humans have these types of mental states and other animals use lower cognitive functions based on learning and experience, such as behavioural abstractions. However, there is increasing evidence that other animals, especially chimpanzees, might also have human-like mental states, such as understanding intentions and understanding the relationship between seeing and knowing. One major caveat, however, is, to date, the most convincing research on chimpanzees’ mental states can not distinguish if the chimpanzees’ actions are based on human-like mental states or based on mechanisms not involving mental attribution such as behavioural abstractions. What is therefore needed is further research which can distinguish between these two possibilities and therefore increase our understand ing of the psychological abilities of chimpanzees and other animals. References Call, J., Tomasello, M.(1999) A nonverbal theory of mind test. The performance of children and apes. Child Development, 70, 381-395 Call, J., Hare, B., Carpenter, M., Tomasello (2004) Unwilling or unable: Chimapnzees’ understanding of human intentional action. Developmental Science, 7, 488-498 Hare,B., Call, J., Agnetta, B., Tomasello, M.(2000) Chimpanzees know what conspecifics do and do not see. Animal Behaviour, 59, 771-785. Hare,B., Call, J., Tomasello, M.(2001). Do chimpanzees know what conspecifics know? Animal Behaviour, 61, 139-151. Heyes,CM (1998). Theory of mind in nonhuman primates. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 21, 101-148. Povinelli, D.J., Perilloux, H.K., Reaux, J.E. Bierschwale, D.T. (1998) Young and Juvenile chimpanzees reactions to intentional versus accidental and inadvertent actions. Behavioural Processes, 42, 205-218 Povinelli, D.J. (2004) Behind the ape’s appearance: escaping anthropocentrism in the study of other minds. Dadalus 29-41 Povinelli, D. J., Giambrone, S. (2001). Reasoning about beliefs: A human specialization? Child Development, 72, 691-695. Povinelli, D.J. Vonk, J. (2003) Chimpanzees minds: Suspiciously human? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 157-160. Povinelli, D.J. Vonk, J. (2004). We dont need a microscope to explore the chimpanzee mind. Mind and Language, 19, 1-28. Tomasello, M., Call, J., and Hare, B. (2003b). Chimpanzees understand psychological states- the question is which ones and to what extent. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 153-156. Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S., Rumbaugh, D.M., Boysen, S.T. (1978). Sarahs problems in comprehension. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1, 555-557.

Job Analysis Essay -- essays research papers fc

What is job analysis and why is it done? Organizations are growing in size each and every day, which in turn creates a high demand for employees. This outcome, however, needs a systematic approach to determine the right employee for the right position. The process has become so large that organizations need specialized help from Human Resource Management (HRM) departments to ensure that the requirements of the position are met. Therefore, the HRM department provides the function of job analysis in order to select the right individual for the position. â€Å"Job analysis is a complex and vital part of every HRM program, as well as an important systematic process used within an organization to determine future members of the workforce.† Job analysis contributes to many important Human Resource Management functions as it identifies and analyzes the relation between the job and what is required. According to the â€Å"Job Analysis: Overview,† Job analysis is a process used to identify and determine in detail the particular job duties, requirements, and the relative importance of these duties for a given position or a particular job. A job analysis defines the work, activities, tasks, objectives, products, services, or processes required to perform a particular job. It collects details about work activities, human behaviors, machine, tools, equipment and work aids, performance standards, job context, and human requirements. These in turn help to identify the knowledges, skills and abili...

Literature Terms Essay

What does the term literature mean to you? Literature means to me is an escape from the troubles of the day. It also keeps me informed about events that may indirectly affect me in my everyday life. What makes something literary in your own mind? It has to be informative and relevant to the matter being described in a story or news article. As far as a book it needs to hold my interest and be able to make me in grossed in the characters in the story. If literature means different things to different people, who defines what is and what is not literature? Us as readers need to decide what is and what is not. Everybody has their own opinion on what is good and what is not good. Next, reflect on your relationship to reading and literature. What kind of reading engages/interests you? I like nonfiction and fiction books that deal with a variety of issues. What about that writing draws you in? Do you find meaning in reading certain writing? If so, describe the satisfaction you draw from this process. Also consider how you read. Do you, for example, take notes or mark text as you read, or do you simply absorb the material on a page? The kind of reading that I enjoy has to bring me into the story; it has to make me imagine what the character is going thru and how it may have to be resolved. I simply get lost in the story and absorb the material on each page as relates to the story. Imagination- is the human power that shapes artistic expression, it enables a writer’s work to become an expression of meaning in our world, and allows readers to engage in identifying with what the writer’s work has to say about things that matter. When you allow reading to unlock your imagination your connection sets the stage for intellectual engagement. It allows the experoence of reading of literature to include the pursuit of ideas and knowledge.section 2.1. Walter Mitty was a dreamer and to me if he’s a dreamer then he is using his imagination. Satire- deals with contradictions. It is the art that calls attention to the difference.

A Comparison of Pride in King Lear and The Duchess of...

The Sin of Pride Exposed in King Lear, and The Duchess of Malfi In this brief monograph, we shall be hunting down and examining various creatures from the bestiary of Medieval/Renaissance thought. Among these are the fierce lion of imperious, egotistical power, a pair of fantastic peacocks, one of vanity, one of preening social status, and the docile lamb of humility. The lion and the peacocks are of the species known as pride, while the lamb is of an entirely different, in fact antithetical race, that of humility and forgiveness. The textual regions we shall be exploring include the diverse expanses, from palace to heath, of William Shakespeare, the dark, sinister Italy of John Webster, and the perfumed ladys chambers of Ben†¦show more content†¦Only pride bows to flattery, and Kent is in essence telling Lear that his pride is getting the better of him. Another aspect of pride which appears in King Lear, as well as Websters The Duchess of Malfi, is that of the preoccupation with reputation and social status. In the latter play, it can be seen in Ferdinands speech to the Duchess in act III, scene ii, in which he tells her an allegorical story about reputation, love, and death (See appendix). Given the Dukes choleric disposition and unnaturally obsessive fixation on his sisters sexual activity, it is not altogether certain how far his speech is motivated by pride and how much it is a product of another mortal sin (not treated here), lust. All the same, it is indicative of an overall world view in which pride of place is woven into the social fabric of the time. (Indeed, things are not so very different today, 400 years later--Plus ca change...) The Duchess offers up her own little allegorical tale at the end of act IV, scene iii in which she relates the fable of the salmon and the dogfish to her murderer-to-be, Bosola (see appendix). This speech is the perfect companion piece and point/counterpoint-style retort to Ferdinands paranoid parable. Where Ferdinand casts death as a mere supporting character in his story, the Duchess more rightly sees death, the net, as the great leveler, bringing an end to the foolish, proud scorn of great men for those bornShow MoreRelatedDuchess Of Malf Open Learn10864 Words   |  44 Pagesï » ¿John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi Introduction 3 Learning outcomes 3 Background 3 Description 4 Act 1: setting the scene 5 Courts ideal and real 5 Discussion 5 Description 8 Bosola the malcontent 8 Discussion 9 Marriage for love: family opposition 10 Discussion 10 Love and marriage: Antonio the steward 13 Discussion 14 Love and marriage: the Duchess 15 Description 16 Description 17 Discussion 19 Act 2: discovery 21 Ferdinand 21 Discussion 22 Conclusion 24 References 24 Further reading 25 Next

How to Communicate With Special Education Parents

The best way to avoid crises with parents or even, heaven forbid, due process, it’s good to have regular communication methods in place. If parents know you are open to hearing their concerns, you can nip any potential misunderstandings that lead to a crisis in the bud. Also, if you communicate regularly when you do have concerns about problem behaviors or a child in crisis, parents won’t feel blindsided. Find Out How a Parent Prefers to Communicate If a parent doesn’t have email, that won’t work. Some parents only have email at work, and may not want to receive messages by email. Some parents may prefer phone calls. Find out what are good times for a phone message. A traveling folder (see below) is a great means of communications, and parents may just prefer to respond to your messages in a notebook in one pocket. Parents Are Stressed Some parents may be embarrassed about having children who need services—for some parents parenting is a competitive sport. Some special education children are poorly organized, extraordinarily active, and do poorly at keeping their rooms clean. These children can stress parents out. Another issue for parents of special education children is that they often feel that no one sees the value of their child because of their challenges. These parents may feel the need to defend their child when you really just want to share a concern or work out a mutually agreeable solution. Don’t Play the Blame Game If these children weren’t challenging, they probably wouldn’t need special education services. Your job is to help them succeed, and you need their parents’ help to do it. Make Your First Email or Phone Call a Positive One Call with something positive you want to tell the parent about their child, even if it’s â€Å"Robert has the greatest smile.† After that, they won’t always pick up your emails or phone calls with dread.  Keep records.  A communication form in a notebook or file would be helpful. Handle your parents with TLC (tender loving care) and you will usually find allies, not enemies. You will have difficult parents, but I will discuss them elsewhere. Email Email can be a good thing or an opportunity for trouble. It is easy for email messages to be misunderstood since they lack the tone of voice and body language, two things that could assure parents that there is not some hidden message. It is good to copy your building administrator, your special education supervisor or a partner teacher all of your emails. Check with your special education supervisor to find out who he or she would like to see receive the copies. Even if they never open them, if they store them, you have a backup in case of a misunderstanding. It is especially important to email your supervisor or building principal a heads up if you see trouble with a parent brewing. Phone Some parents may prefer a phone. They may like the immediacy and the sense of intimacy created by a telephone call. Still, there is potential for misunderstanding, and you never know exactly what frame of mind they are in when you call. You can set up a regular phone date, or just call on special occasions. You might save this for just good news, since other kinds of calls, especially calls involving aggression, may put parents on the defensive since they haven’t’ had a chance to prepare for it. If you leave a message, be sure you say Bob ( or whoever) is fine. I just need to talk (ask a question, get some information, share something that happened today.) Please call me at . . . Be sure to follow up a phone call with an email or a note. Restate briefly what you talked about. Keep a copy. Traveling Folders Traveling Folders are invaluable for communication, especially on completed projects, papers or tests. Usually, a teacher will designate one side for homework and the other for completed assignments and the communication folder.  Often a daily Home Note can be included.  It can be part of your behavior management plan as well a means to communicate. It is still good to save copies of parent’s notes, or even both sides of the conversation, so you can share them with an administrator should you see trouble coming down the pike. You might want to either put a plastic insert with a list of what should come home each night and directions for how to complete the folder or staple the same to the front cover of the folder. You will find parents will be pretty good at packing this folder in the child’s backpack. Stay In Touch--Regularly However you decide to communicate, do it on a regular basis, not just when a crisis arrives. It might be nightly, for a communication folder, or perhaps weekly for a phone call. By keeping in touch, you not only can share concerns, but you will be eliciting the support of parents in reinforcing the good things you want to see happen for their child.

My View Of Christianity Changed At All Over The Course Of...

Has my view of Christianity changed at all over the course of this quarter? That seems to be quite a loaded question. My understanding of Christianity has changed drastically. I have learned where Christianity actually came from, where our roots are. I was really intrigued when we learned about why the Romans let the Jews continue to practice Judaism. The Romans were more interested with how old things were than the actual content of the thing. If Jewish religion wasn’t older than Roman religion our history may have gone much differently. Because the Romans liked old things, they let the Jews have a pass (Lecture 3/2). The question of whether my view of the Bible has changed over the course of this quarter seems to be quite a different question. My understanding of the Bible has changed quite drastically since the first week of January. As I wrote in my first paper, â€Å"My knowledge and history of the Bible is very little. I pretty much just know how to look verses up if I need to. I don’t really know how or where to go about reading from the Bible. If I read it, I open it up at random and start reading.† Boy has this be an incredibly informational quarter. I can open up a Bible now and decipher whether I am in the New or Old Testament, something I couldn’t do before. I couldn’t even tell you what makes them different from one another. I mean I knew nothing at all. I know that if I open up the Bible and find myself in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John that those are the gospels.Show MoreRelatedEssay on Religion of Self-Expression994 Words   |  4 Pages In my family, we see religion as our own personal decision; different to each individual. All the children in the Meyer family have been encouraged to explore religions and find what fit us best. As a child I was looking for a religion that I could relate to. I wanted to get in touch with nature and myself. I explored many different religions but I found no connection to them. 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CBN Railway free essay sample

Among some of the challenges that CBN Railway Company faces, this paper will focus on a solution to overcome the inefficiency that exists with the maintenance of their equipment; namely their locomotives. CBN Railway Company is also considering leasing locomotives from various sources, unspecified. We will analyze some possible solutions and weigh the pros and cons of the possibility of leasing equipment. These two challenges facing this company are causing the quality of customer service to frail amidst an increase in business in the rail industry. Power by the Mile Leasing Arrangements Leasing of equipment for some companies can be advantageous. Depending on the lease terms, some firms can have great success with leasing the equipment they use due to the fact that the leasing company provides services and maintenance of the equipment they lease. This feature of a lease can be cost effective to the company leasing the equipment in a sense that the company does not have to maintain payroll of maintenance personnel or cost of maintenance in order to keep the said equipment in working order. We will write a custom essay sample on CBN Railway or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Maintenance of equipment is probably one of the most expensive aspects of any business. It takes a good maintenance system, which costs money, to efficiently and effectively maintain equipment. This aspect will be provided by the leasing company, given the fact that it is stated on the lease agreement. The downside to the agreement that CBN is looking to enter is that they will have to provide the actual labor on the locomotives (Coyle, Novack, Gibson, Bardi, 2011). This seems to be that CBN will pay for the lease and also will need to maintain a maintenance labor force to provide service to the locomotives as needed. This concept in itself deems this agreement to be unfavorable for CBN due to the fact that CBN will pay double; they will pay for service according to the lease agreement and also pay to maintain a team to do the actual labor on the locomotives. Although leasing can be a viable option in some cases, in this particular case, it is not. Possible Solutions Business that is oriented and dependent upon equipment performance must incorporate an effective and efficient maintenance system. The fact that CBN has schedules to maintain and customers to satisfy through adherence to these schedules tells the tale that CBN is in dire need of a good maintenance system. Through implementation of such a system, they may also need to revisit the quality of expertise and leadership within its labor force. Although they may go into a leasing agreement, a provision of the lease forces them to still hold on to a labor force for maintenance of their locomotives. Whether or not they choose to lease, this labor force must be elite in order to efficiently and effectively provide adequate service to their equipment. The possibility of hiring on a Maintenance Manager to oversee and run the maintenance department may be a viable possibility. Either way, the main deficiency of CBN seems to be the lack of expertise or direction of personnel that maintain their equipment, therefore, investing in maintenance leadership and expertise is a must for this company. Best Interest for CBN The main focus of any company is to be profitable. Profitability depends greatly on customer satisfaction and efficient/effective systems within the company. Although being in the situation that CBN is in, they must focus on what needs to be done in order to reverse the poor job servicing of its customers. This needs to be a â€Å"low lying fruit†, so to speak, where they can pick and solve the problems on a short run basis. Leasing their equipment may be a short term solution but in order to stay competitive, they need to have a long term plan and strategy of implementation of this plan at predetermined time intervals that provide milestones for the company to hit. This will give the company, as a whole, a sense of accomplishment in achieving the set milestones. CBN has been in business for a long time and has dealt with these problems for at least 20 years now (Coyle, Novack, Gibson, Bardi, 2011). They seem to have reached a monotonous plateau of acceptance in effectively dealing with their challenges therefore; they are not seeing desired results in ideas or methods of problem solving. Conclusion CBN must realize that they now operate in a different era and customer orientated systems must be implemented throughout every aspect of the business. This is especially true in this day in age where the public has easy access to various forms of information such as the internet. Customers now have many options available to gain information about most any and all services that they may need; this includes CBN’s customer base. The decisions and techniques of confronting and overcoming challenges must be made as a result of viable data and not estimations of how much money may be gained or lost. In order to achieve this data, CBN must implement effective systems that start from within the core of the company and organize everything else outward. This will ultimately grow CBN Rail Company into a strong and reliable, customer oriented competitor within the railroad transportation industry.