Don’t Let Bias Influence Your Business
Have you ever heard of the term “bias?” It has a negative connotation to it, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. A bias can predispose you to a skewed consideration or thought when met with what is known to be a seemingly neutral stimuli. In some cases, they can cause more harm than good, which is why it’s a good thing to take another look at how you approach certain situations. Researchers have discovered several trends about why we hold certain biases, as well as how we can overcome them.
Don’t Let Bias Influence Your Business
Have you ever heard of the term “bias?” It has a negative connotation to it, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. A bias can predispose you to a skewed consideration or thought when met with what is known to be a seemingly neutral stimuli. In some cases, they can cause more harm than good, which is why it’s a good thing to take another look at how you approach certain situations. Researchers have discovered several trends about why we hold certain biases, as well as how we can overcome them.
Don’t Let Bias Influence Your Business
Have you ever heard of the term “bias?” It has a negative connotation to it, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. A bias can predispose you to a skewed consideration or thought when met with what is known to be a seemingly neutral stimuli. In some cases, they can cause more harm than good, which is why it’s a good thing to take another look at how you approach certain situations. Researchers have discovered several trends about why we hold certain biases, as well as how we can overcome them.
Defining a Bias
Let’s get one thing out of the way right now: there is no justifying biases against other groups of people. Despite this, some have argued that biases originated as survival tools in ages past. A little bit of skepticism probably saved the skins of many of our ancestors!
Bias expert Maureen Berkner Boyt offers another theory about why the human brain errs toward bias. She states that the brain uses bias to keep itself from experiencing information overload. Boyt suggests that the world is filled with stimuli and a huge amount of information for our brains to process. Her theory is that biases keep our brains processing information in a quicker and easier manner. In essence, bias serves as a kind of filter.
If this filter isn’t in place, there is a chance that our brains wouldn’t be able to process all of the incoming information. Therefore, biases can be looked at as defense mechanisms that keep our brains from breaking down. Boyt’s theory also includes that biases can be associated with certain events, allowing for mental shortcuts leading to conclusions. Thus, biases in this sense aren’t necessarily a bad thing, and can be used to learn or save brain processing power for truly important scenarios.
How This Perception Creates Issues for Businesses
Biases, in this sense, can create problems for organizations in the form of prejudice, even if it’s not obvious right from the get-go. The prejudices can even be something as simple as adhering to stereotypical beliefs about any number of topics. The most notable instance of this can be seen in gender roles within organizations. Some industries are populated in favor of one gender over the other, whether the disparity is immediately apparent or not. These biases can have long lasting influences on the way that certain processes are accomplished for a business.
An orchestra generally includes mostly male musicians. While these people might not be hired based on their gender specifically, blind auditions have been shown to yield a closer male/female ratio. A study of GitHub coders shows similar results, showcasing that the typically male-dominated field often favors female coders in a blind environment.
Have Your Decisions Been Biased?
Unless someone is pointing out your biases, it can be difficult to identify that you have one. Even from the mindset that biases are shortcuts to facilitate easier decision making, this can suggest that they are simply not rational. This can be the case, but ultimately a strong bias is going to influence the holder’s thoughts and feelings. For those who would like to look at this phenomenon, there are tools out there that help you identify biased decisions. Harvard’s Project Implicit includes quizzes that you can use to identify and eliminate biases toward a number of different factors.
Once you know which biases your business is suffering from, you can take steps toward resolving them. One of the best ways that your organization can eliminate particular biases related to technology management is by reaching out to Catalyst Technology Group at (317) 705-0333. We’ll work with you to make sure that you can make educated decisions about your technology solutions.
Tip of the Week: Don’t Let Your Old Android Device go to Waste
Unless you’re the trade-in or hand-me-down kind of person, it’s likely that you have a supply of old Android devices squirrelled away somewhere. You know, just in case the one who have now breaks. However, these old devices can be useful in other ways around the office. For this week’s tip, we’ll go over three alternate uses for your mobile device in the office.
Portable Trackpad
There are assorted applications available that allow you to link your old phone to your computer and use it as an alternative controller to your mouse. These apps often offer specialized features that give you better control over media playback and other useful workplace utilities.
Just be sure to install whatever app you select from the Google Play store, as it is the safest option out there for downloading apps. However, you should also make sure that your IT department signs off on you adding these apps to devices used for work.
Universal Remote
If you happen to use smart devices in your office, your old phone could become a central control hub for them. Download the necessary apps from the Google Play store, and in no time, you’ll be able to control any of the gadgets you have installed around your office with a dedicated remote, eliminating the need for the bulky included remotes that accompany many of these devices, as well as the need to take up space on your current mobile phone.
Security Camera
Similarly to using your old device as a universal remote, you can find apps on Google Play that can turn it into a security camera with a few different features. By doing so, you can boost your office’s security with the option to check in on goings-on via a web browser, record the footage, and even have the camera activate when motion is detected.
Bonus Purpose: Donate the Phone to BOINC
The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, or BOINC, allows you to donate the computing resources of your old phone to assist research teams in their efforts towards scientific breakthroughs. So far, resources dedicated to BOINC have powered research into the climate, molecular dynamics, genetic sequencing, measured the efficacy of malaria treatments and the power of earthquakes, as well as many other scientific causes.
To participate, all you have to do is download the BOINC app from the Google Play Store and select what research you want to commit your phone’s resources to. The app will only run if your device is both charged and plugged in, as so not to leave you with a drained phone, and can be set to only transmit data over Wi-Fi, saving your data.
What other uses have you come up with for your old Android devices? Let us know in the comments, and make sure to subscribe to our blog!