U.S. patent application number 11/008538 was filed with the patent office on 2006-06-15 for technology budget manager for mobile employees.
This patent application is currently assigned to International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Gregory J. Boss, Andrew R. Jones, Kevin C. McConnell, Alan P. Mitchell.
Application Number | 20060129412 11/008538 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36585190 |
Filed Date | 2006-06-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060129412 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Boss; Gregory J. ; et
al. |
June 15, 2006 |
Technology budget manager for mobile employees
Abstract
An automated system and method for budgeting technology expenses
for an individual based on an objective standard, wherein the
system comprises a database comprising a list of technologies used
by the individual; a controller connected to the database, the
controller being adapted to establish a monetary budget allotment
for the individual corresponding to use of the technologies by the
individual; at least one data component connected to the
controller, the data component comprising specifications attributed
to the individual, wherein the specifications comprise rules for
defining the monetary budget allotment for the individual; and at
least one monitor connected to the controller, the monitor being
adapted to track dynamic parameters affecting the monetary budget
allotment for the individual, wherein the individual comprises a
mobile employee performing work-related duties for an
organization.
Inventors: |
Boss; Gregory J.; (American
Fork, UT) ; Jones; Andrew R.; (Round Rock, TX)
; McConnell; Kevin C.; (Austin, TX) ; Mitchell;
Alan P.; (Cedar Park, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FREDERICK W. GIBB, III;GIBB INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW FIRM, LLC
2568-A RIVA ROAD
SUITE 304
ANNAPOLIS
MD
21401
US
|
Assignee: |
International Business Machines
Corporation
Armonk
NY
|
Family ID: |
36585190 |
Appl. No.: |
11/008538 |
Filed: |
December 9, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/35 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 40/00 20130101;
G06Q 10/10 20130101; G06Q 10/063 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/001 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 99/00 20060101
G06Q099/00 |
Claims
1. An automated system for budgeting technology expenses for an
individual based on an objective standard, said system comprising:
a database comprising a list of technologies used by said
individual; a controller connected to said database, said
controller being adapted to establish a monetary budget allotment
for said individual corresponding to use of said technologies by
said individual; at least one data component connected to said
controller, said data component comprising specifications
attributed to said individual, wherein said specifications comprise
rules for defining said monetary budget allotment for said
individual; and at least one monitor connected to said controller,
said monitor being adapted to track dynamic parameters affecting
said monetary budget allotment for said individual.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said individual comprises an
employee performing work-related duties for an organization.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein said employee comprises a mobile
employee.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein said data component comprises a
location component comprising a work location code identifier
corresponding to a location where said employee performs a majority
of said work-related duties.
5. The system of claim 2, wherein said data component comprises an
attributes identifier corresponding to employee-related attributes
including any of employee skill level, years of service with said
organization, and job classification.
6. The system of claim 1, further comprising an individual record
component adapted to track expenses relating to said use of said
technologies by said individual and to compare the tracked expenses
with said monetary budget allotment.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said controller is adapted to
fluctuate said monetary budget allotment of said individual based
on said specifications and changes to said dynamic parameters.
8. The system of claim 2, wherein said monitor comprises a travel
monitor adapted to track a travel frequency of said employee for
performance of said work-related duties.
9. The system of claim 2, wherein said monitor comprises a usage
monitor adapted to track a usage of telephonic and data transfer
devices by said employee during times of performance of said
work-related duties by said employee.
10. The system of claim 2, wherein said monitor comprises a rate
changes monitor adapted to track changes in service provider fees
for using said technologies.
11. The system of claim 2, wherein said monitor comprises a travel
monitor adapted to track a frequency of said employee using a
personal vehicle of said employee for performance of said
work-related duties.
12. The system of claim 2, further comprising an expense reporting
component connected to said monitor, wherein said expense reporting
component being adapted to facilitate a transaction between said
employee and said organization for a reimbursement of expenses
corresponding to said employee using personal resources of said
employee for performance of said work-related duties.
13. A method for budgeting technology expenses for an individual
based on an objective standard using a computer system, said method
comprising: creating a list of technologies used by said
individual; establishing a monetary budget allotment for said
individual corresponding to use of said technologies by said
individual; formulating specifications attributed to said
individual, wherein said specifications comprise rules for defining
said monetary budget allotment for said individual; and monitoring
dynamic parameters affecting said monetary budget allotment for
said individual.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein said individual comprises an
employee performing work-related duties for an organization.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein said employee comprises a
mobile employee.
16. The method of claim 14, further comprising identifying a work
location code corresponding to a location where said employee
performs a majority of said work-related duties.
17. The method of claim 14, further comprising identifying
attributes corresponding to employee-related attributes including
any of employee skill level, years of service with said
organization, and job classification.
18. The method of claim 13, further comprising: tracking expenses
relating to said use of said technologies by said individual; and
comparing the tracked expenses with said monetary budget
allotment.
19. The method of claim 13, further comprising fluctuating said
monetary budget allotment of said individual based on said
specifications and changes to said dynamic parameters.
20. The method of claim 14, further comprising tracking a travel
frequency of said employee for performance of said work-related
duties.
21. The method of claim 14, further comprising tracking a usage of
telephonic and data transfer devices by said employee during times
of performance of said work-related duties by said employee.
22. The method of claim 14, further comprising tracking changes in
service provider fees for using said technologies.
23. The method of claim 14, further comprising tracking a frequency
of said employee using a personal vehicle of said employee for
performance of said work-related duties.
24. The method of claim 14, further comprising facilitating a
transaction between said employee and said organization for a
reimbursement of expenses corresponding to said employee using
personal resources of said employee for performance of said
work-related duties.
25. A program storage device readable by computer, tangibly
embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer to
perform a method of budgeting technology expenses for an individual
based on an objective standard using a computer system, said method
comprising: creating a list of technologies used by said
individual; establishing a monetary budget allotment for said
individual corresponding to use of said technologies by said
individual; formulating specifications attributed to said
individual, wherein said specifications comprise rules for defining
said monetary budget allotment for said individual; and monitoring
dynamic parameters affecting said monetary budget allotment for
said individual.
26. The program storage device of claim 25, wherein said individual
comprises an employee performing work-related duties for an
organization.
27. The program storage device of claim 26, wherein said employee
comprises a mobile employee.
28. The program storage device of claim 26, wherein said method
further comprises identifying a work location code corresponding to
a location where said employee performs a majority of said
work-related duties.
29. The program storage device of claim 26, wherein said method
further comprises identifying attributes corresponding to
employee-related attributes including any of employee skill level,
years of service with said organization, and job
classification.
30. The program storage device of claim 25, wherein said method
further comprises: tracking expenses relating to said use of said
technologies by said individual; and comparing the tracked expenses
with said monetary budget allotment.
31. The program storage device of claim 25, wherein said method
further comprises fluctuating said monetary budget allotment of
said individual based on said specifications and changes to said
dynamic parameters.
32. The program storage device of claim 26, wherein said method
further comprises tracking a travel frequency of said employee for
performance of said work-related duties.
33. The program storage device of claim 26, wherein said method
further comprises tracking a usage of telephonic and data transfer
devices by said employee during times of performance of said
work-related duties by said employee.
34. The program storage device of claim 26, wherein said method
further comprises tracking changes in service provider fees for
using said technologies.
35. The program storage device of claim 26, wherein said method
further comprises tracking a frequency of said employee using a
personal vehicle of said employee for performance of said
work-related duties.
36. The program storage device of claim 26, wherein said method
further comprises facilitating a transaction between said employee
and said organization for a reimbursement of expenses corresponding
to said employee using personal resources of said employee for
performance of said work-related duties.
37. A service for budgeting technology expenses for an individual
based on an objective standard using a computer system, said
service: creating a list of technologies used by said individual;
establishing a monetary budget allotment for said individual
corresponding to use of said technologies by said individual;
formulating specifications attributed to said individual, wherein
said specifications comprise rules for defining said monetary
budget allotment for said individual; and monitoring dynamic
parameters affecting said monetary budget allotment for said
individual.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The embodiments of the invention generally relate to
computer software and associated tools, and more particularly to a
software tool used for a business or organization to manage its
workforce.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] In traditional office environments, businesses (i.e.,
companies and other types of organizations) tend to pay all
expenses for an employee who works on-site (i.e. overhead relating
to printing supplies, office space, telephones, internet access,
etc.). Currently, there is a trend to move employees from
traditional offices to home offices (i.e., telecommuting), which
helps in significantly decreasing office overhead costs. In some
cases, this trend has resulted in upwards of 40% of traditional
employees becoming mobile employees, especially for IT(information
technology)-related businesses. The term "mobile employee" used
herein describes an employee without a permanent physical
business/organizational office, and who may work at home or
telecommute from some other location.
[0005] Mobile employees tend to have different technology needs
from those in a traditional business office and most of these needs
involve tools and services (i.e., cell phones, wireless data
networks, wireless handheld computers, internet access, etc.) which
are provided externally. The associated expenses involved in
providing these tools and services are variable and are often the
first ones reduced when the business is reducing costs in difficult
financial times.
[0006] The expense budgets and associated processes related to
mobile employees are often inflexible and difficult to effectively
manage and may even create employee satisfaction/unsatisfaction
issues. When the manager or business policies dictate too much
detail on expenses, the employee can be dissatisfied and the
expense allocation becomes inefficient. Moreover, businesses and
organizations are consistently looking for ways to attract and
retain their employees and to monitor employee productivity in
light of internal budget requirements. Furthermore, for mobile
employees, these concerns remain in effect, but are often more
complicated to manage. Therefore, there remains a need for an
automated objective tool that enables business and/or
organizational managers to equitably assign employees a technology
budget based on work location attributes and job attributes and for
intelligent monitors that examine an employee's work patterns.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In view of the foregoing, an embodiment of the invention
provides an automated system for budgeting technology expenses for
an individual based on an objective standard, wherein the system
comprises a database comprising a list of technologies used by the
individual; a controller connected to the database, the controller
being adapted to establish a monetary budget allotment for the
individual corresponding to use of the technologies by the
individual; at least one data component connected to the
controller, the data component comprising specifications attributed
to the individual, wherein the specifications comprise rules for
defining the monetary budget allotment for the individual; and at
least one monitor connected to the controller, the monitor being
adapted to track dynamic parameters affecting the monetary budget
allotment for the individual, wherein the individual comprises a
mobile employee performing work-related duties for an
organization.
[0008] The data component comprises a location component comprising
a work location code identifier corresponding to a location where
the employee performs a majority of the work-related duties; and an
attributes identifier corresponding to employee-related attributes
including any of employee skill level, years of service with the
organization, and job classification. The system further comprises
an individual record component adapted to track expenses relating
to the use of the technologies by the individual and to compare the
tracked expenses with the monetary budget allotment; and an expense
reporting component connected to the monitor, wherein the expense
reporting component being adapted to facilitate a transaction
between the employee and the organization for a reimbursement of
expenses corresponding to the employee using personal resources of
the employee for performance of the work-related duties.
[0009] The controller is adapted to fluctuate the monetary budget
allotment of the individual based on the specifications and changes
to the dynamic parameters. The monitor comprises a travel monitor
adapted to track a travel frequency of the employee for performance
of the work-related duties; a usage monitor adapted to track a
usage of telephonic and data transfer devices by the employee
during times of performance of the work-related duties by the
employee; a rate changes monitor adapted to track changes in
service provider fees for using the technologies; and a travel
monitor adapted to track a frequency of the employee using a
personal vehicle of the employee for performance of the
work-related duties.
[0010] Another aspect of the invention provides a method for
budgeting technology expenses for an individual based on an
objective standard using a computer system, wherein the method
comprises creating a list of technologies used by the individual;
establishing a monetary budget allotment for the individual
corresponding to use of the technologies by the individual;
formulating specifications attributed to the individual, wherein
the specifications comprise rules for defining the monetary budget
allotment for the individual; and monitoring dynamic parameters
affecting the monetary budget allotment for the individual, wherein
the individual comprises a mobile employee performing work-related
duties for an organization.
[0011] The method further comprises identifying a work location
code corresponding to a location where the employee performs a
majority of the work-related duties; identifying attributes
corresponding to employee-related attributes including any of
employee skill level, years of service with the organization, and
job classification; tracking expenses relating to the use of the
technologies by the individual; and comparing the tracked expenses
with the monetary budget allotment.
[0012] Moreover, the method comprises fluctuating the monetary
budget allotment of the individual based on the specifications and
changes to the dynamic parameters; tracking a travel frequency of
the employee for performance of the work-related duties; tracking a
usage of telephonic and data transfer devices by the employee
during times of performance of the work-related duties by the
employee; tracking changes in service provider fees for using the
technologies; tracking a frequency of the employee using a personal
vehicle of the employee for performance of the work-related duties;
and facilitating a transaction between the employee and the
organization for a reimbursement of expenses corresponding to the
employee using personal resources of the employee for performance
of the work-related duties.
[0013] Another embodiment of the invention provides a program
storage device readable by computer, tangibly embodying a program
of instructions executable by the computer to perform a method of
budgeting technology expenses for an individual based on an
objective standard using a computer system, wherein the method
comprises creating a list of technologies used by the individual;
establishing a monetary budget allotment for the individual
corresponding to use of the technologies by the individual;
formulating specifications attributed to the individual, wherein
the specifications comprise rules for defining the monetary budget
allotment for the individual; and monitoring dynamic parameters
affecting the monetary budget allotment for the individual.
[0014] Another embodiment of the invention provides a service for
budgeting technology expenses for an individual based on an
objective standard using a computer system; the service creating a
list of technologies used by the individual; establishing a
monetary budget allotment for the individual corresponding to use
of the technologies by the individual; formulating specifications
attributed to the individual, wherein the specifications comprise
rules for defining the monetary budget allotment for the
individual; and monitoring dynamic parameters affecting the
monetary budget allotment for the individual.
[0015] The embodiments of the invention achieve several advantages
including that the employee knows how much they can expense for
technology tools and services; the business can plan a more
effective budget for their employees; budget allocations are more
equitable because of the use of an objective tool rather than a
subjective process; and the use of "monitors" that track patterns
which then adjust budgets according to policies.
[0016] These and other aspects of the embodiments of the invention
will be better appreciated and understood when considered in
conjunction with the following description and the accompanying
drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following
descriptions, while indicating preferred embodiments of the
invention and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way
of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and
modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments of
the invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the
embodiments of the invention include all such modifications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The embodiments of the invention will be better understood
from the following detailed description with reference to the
drawings, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile employee budget
system according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a mobile expense report process
according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0020] FIGS. 3(A) through 3(C) are flow diagrams illustrating
preferred methods of an embodiment of the invention; and
[0021] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a computer system according
to an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0022] The embodiments of the invention and the various features
and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with
reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in
the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following
description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in
the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Descriptions of
well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as
to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the invention. The
examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an
understanding of ways in which the embodiments of the invention may
be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to
practice the embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the
examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the
embodiments of the invention.
[0023] As mentioned, there remains a need for an automated
objective tool that enables business and/or organizational managers
to equitably assign employees a technology budget based on work
location attributes and job attributes and for intelligent monitors
that examine an employee's work patterns. The embodiments of the
invention address this need by providing a system and method to
intelligently manage a technology budget for a mobile employee. The
embodiments of the invention also generate a budget based on
attributes about the employee and their work environment. Moreover,
the system and method provided by the embodiments of the invention
allow a mobile employee to select corporate approved technologies
from a technology cafeteria plan. With a budget, the mobile
employee knows how much he/she can spend, and has the latitude and
a partial autonomy over his/her own budget. Referring now to the
drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 4 where similar
reference characters denote corresponding features consistently
throughout the figures, there are shown preferred embodiments of
the invention.
[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile employee budget system 100
according to an embodiment of the invention. The mobile employee
budget system 100 comprises a cafeteria plan component 110 (which
may be embodied as a computerized database), which includes a
management approved list 111 of mobile technologies that the mobile
workforce may use and expense. Preferably, the management tests the
various mobile technologies prior to approving them in order to
assure compatibility of the mobile technologies with the needs of
the mobile employees. The mobile employee budget system 100 also
includes a work location technology budget component 120. In this
regard, the management assigns a work location code to each
employee based on where they spend most of their time. Examples of
work location codes include: "T" for Traveler, "H" for Work at
Home, "S" for Standard Office. The management defines a base
technology budget for each work location code that starts to define
how much an employee may expense for these tools. A standard office
location would start with a zero or a very limited budget because
most expenses are covered by the company in-house. Comparatively, a
mobile employee or "work at home" location would start with a
larger budget to cover expenses that occur to enable a mobile
employee to be effective and productive.
[0025] Next, the mobile employee budget system 100 includes an
employee attributes component 130, whereby the management defines
attributes they want to define for an employee that would impact
the technology budget 120. Attribute examples include the skill
level of the employee, years with the company, job code, etc. Each
of these attributes can then be defined with a budget percentage
increase to change the base work location technology budget 120 for
a mobile employee. For example, an employee who is a senior
technical staff member with 20 years of experience should
presumably be allotted a larger budget than an employee who is a
recent college graduate having less than 6 months of
experience.
[0026] The mobile employee budget system 100 further includes an
additional budget rules component 140, wherein the management may
want to define additional rules to impact the overall technology
budget. An example of a rule is, "for every patent an employee
creates, they get an additional one percent budget increase for a
year." In another example of a rule, "employees that travel
internationally receive additional budget allowances to cover
roaming charges for their cell phone use."
[0027] Additionally, the mobile employee budget system 100 includes
an employee record component 150, which is a collection of all of
the employees attributes 130, which is then stored in a system
database 170. The employee record component 150 receives updates
from an external human resource system (part of system database
170) each month and tracks the remaining budget total either yearly
or monthly based on corporate requirements. To determine the
remaining budget allowed to be spent, the employee record component
150 monitors how much the system 100 pays the employee for expense
reports. If an employee exceeds his/her budget, the employee must
follow the expense report exception process 205 (described in FIG.
2) to justify any expenses over their allocated budget.
[0028] Again, with reference to FIG. 1, the employee record
component 150 includes an employee technology budget component 160.
The employee technology budget 160 is set based on the work
location technology budget 120, employee attributes 130, additional
budget rules 140, and the employee record 150. That is, the
employee technology budget 160 is based on the various factors
affecting the status of the employee (i.e., technology needs of the
employee as defined by the cafeteria plan 110, the employee's
experience and other attributes 130, additional rules 140 affecting
a particular employee, and the standard (i.e., objective standard)
assigned to a particular employee's position and technology budget
criteria in light of his/her work location (i.e., work location
technology budget 120)). Furthermore, the employee technology
budget component 160 can be updated when changes occur in the
employee attributes 130 and when intelligent monitors 180 determine
the employees' work activity justify an increase or decrease in the
employee technology budget 160. The system 100 updates the employee
technology budget 160 periodically, which can be performed monthly
or yearly, or project to project based on the preferences or
policies of the business/organization.
[0029] The intelligent monitors 180 include a travel frequency
monitor 181, a usage monitor 182, a corporate negotiated rates
changes monitor 183, and a local travel monitor 184. The travel
frequency monitor 181 tracks the frequency that the employee
travels. Based on the rules defined in the additional budget rules
140, the system 100 may update the employee technology budget 160
if the travel frequency monitor indicates an increase/decrease in
the employee's travel frequency. The travel frequency monitor 181
monitors employee expense reports 201 (of FIG. 2) for travel
related expenses to determine if adjustments should be made.
[0030] In FIG. 1, the usage monitor 182 tracks the employee's use
of wireless voice and data usage and makes changes to the employee
technology budget 160 based on rules in the additional budget rules
component 140. If the employee is not using a flat rate service,
the minute plan may need to be increased or decreased based on
usage; i.e., if many customer calls are coming into the employee's
cell phone and is using more minutes than are being paid for in the
standard plan, the system 100 increases the technology budget 160
and recommends a plan change. Accordingly, it is assumed that the
employee reports actual usage of voice and data on the expense
report 201 (of FIG. 2).
[0031] With reference to FIG. 1, the corporate negotiated rate
changes monitor 183 tracks contracts that the business negotiates
with service providers. When rate reductions are realized, the
system 100 automatically adjusts the employee technology budget 160
accordingly. Likewise when rate increases occur, the system 100
automatically adjusts the employee technology budget 160
accordingly. The local travel monitor 184 can be implemented using
two different methods to track how much the employee uses their
vehicle for business. A manual system can be used where the
employee keeps track of business miles driven and expenses them
using the expense reporting process 201 (of FIG. 2). The local
travel monitor 184 would monitor for these local travel expenses
and adjust the employee technology budget as necessary. An
alternative would be to use an on-board vehicular computer system
(not shown) to automatically record and report business usage of
the vehicle (not shown). When an employee uses their vehicle, they
indicate to the computer system (not shown) that the trip is for
business. At the end of the trip, an on-board computer system (not
shown) passes a message to the system 100 for analysis and expense
reporting. The local travel monitor 184 would monitor for these
local travel expenses and adjust the employee technology budget as
necessary.
[0032] FIG. 2, with reference to FIG. 1, illustrates an expense
reporting process according to an embodiment of the invention. The
expense reporting process may involve the employee seeking
reimbursement for any personal resources (i.e., employee's personal
resources such as money, personal credit card, personal automobile,
house, etc.) used by the employee during the performance of
work-related duties. According to the process, the employee submits
(201) expense reports to be reimbursed for expenses incurred while
conducting business for the business/organization. The system 100
then pays (209) the employee for the requested amount in the
expense report. If the employee believes they should be reimbursed
for more than their allocated employee technology budget 160, they
may seek to determine whether an exception (203) should be made and
that they should be reimbursed for the additional amount. If there
is no exception (`No`), then the system 100 does not pay (211) the
additional amount. If there is an exception (`Yes`), then the
employee makes an exception request (205) and it then goes to
manager approval (207) of the request. If the manager approves
(`Yes`) the exception request, then the system 100 pays (209) the
employee's reimbursement request or issues cash funds to the
employee. If the manager does not approve (`No`) the exception
request, then, then the employee has the option of re-submitting
(201) the expense report. The system 100 then updates the employee
record to indicate the remaining budget available.
[0033] For some businesses/organizations the expense reporting
process can be operated using a simple e-mail work-flow process.
The employee begins the expense reporting process (201) by sending
a correspondence (i.e., e-mail) requesting reimbursement to their
manager. The manager can approve and forward the correspondence
(e-mail) to the individual responsible for reimbursing funds to the
employee. These funds may be sent directly to the employee's back
account, or added to their next pay check, or a check may be issued
to the employee, etc.
[0034] FIG. 3(A) is a flowchart illustrating a method for budgeting
technology expenses for an individual based on an objective
standard using a computer system, wherein the method comprises
creating (301) a list of technologies used by the individual;
establishing (303) a monetary budget allotment for the individual
corresponding to use of the technologies by the individual;
formulating (305) specifications attributed to the individual,
wherein the specifications comprise rules for defining the monetary
budget allotment for the individual; and monitoring (307) dynamic
parameters affecting the monetary budget allotment for the
individual, wherein the individual comprises a mobile employee
performing work-related duties for an organization. Work-related
duties may include anything the employee does for the purposes of
carrying out the duties described in a job description for that
particular employee, as defined by the management.
[0035] As shown in FIG. 3(B), the method further comprises
identifying (321) a work location code corresponding to a location
where the employee performs a majority of the work-related duties;
identifying (323) attributes corresponding to employee-related
attributes including any of employee skill level, years of service
with the organization, and job classification; tracking (325)
expenses relating to the use of the technologies by the individual;
and comparing (327) the tracked expenses with the monetary budget
allotment.
[0036] Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 3(C), the method comprises
fluctuating (331) the monetary budget allotment of the individual
based on the specifications and changes to the dynamic parameters;
tracking (333) a travel frequency of the employee for performance
of the work-related duties; tracking (335) a usage of telephonic
and data transfer devices by the employee during times of
performance of the work-related duties by the employee; tracking
(337) changes in service provider fees for using the technologies;
tracking (339) a frequency of the employee using a personal vehicle
of the employee for performance of the work-related duties; and
facilitating (341) a transaction between the employee and the
organization for a reimbursement of expenses corresponding to the
employee using personal resources of the employee for performance
of the work-related duties.
[0037] A representative hardware environment for practicing the
embodiments of the invention is depicted in FIG. 4. This schematic
drawing illustrates a hardware configuration of an information
handling/computer system in accordance with the embodiments of the
invention. The system comprises at least one processor or central
processing unit (CPU) 10. The CPUs 10 are interconnected via system
bus 12 to various devices such as a random access memory (RAM) 14,
read-only memory (ROM) 16, and an input/output (I/O) adapter 18.
The I/O adapter 18 can connect to peripheral devices, such as disk
units 11 and tape drives 13, or other program storage devices that
are readable by the system. The system can read the inventive
instructions on the program storage devices and follow these
instructions to execute the methodology of the embodiments of the
invention. The system further includes a user interface adapter 19
that connects a keyboard 15, mouse 17, speaker 24, microphone 22,
and/or other user interface devices such as a touch screen device
(not shown) to the bus 12 to gather user input. Additionally, a
communication adapter 20 connects the bus 12 to a data processing
network 25, and a display adapter 21 connects the bus 12 to a
display device 23 which may be embodied as an output device such as
a monitor, printer, or transmitter, for example.
[0038] The embodiments of the invention achieve several advantages
including that the employee knows how much they can expense for
technology tools and services; the business can plan a more
effective budget for their employees; budget allocations are more
equitable because of the use of an objective tool rather than a
subjective process; and the use of monitors 180 (i.e., software
agents) that track patterns which then adjust budgets 160 according
to policies.
[0039] The system 100 provided by the embodiments of the invention
could be marketed by a company's internal human resources
department as a benefit to recruit new employees. This would be
viewed as a positive benefit that the company is allowing the
employee to invest in technology to perform their job done while at
the same time introducing a potential savings to the
business/organization. Moreover, the system 100 provided by the
embodiments of the invention together with all of its components
(as illustrated in FIG. 1) may include computer logic circuitry
adapted and programmed to perform the various functions described
above.
[0040] The embodiments of the invention change the typical
subjective means of managing budgets found in conventional
approaches to a very objective technique that can be automated
through the triggers described in the description. The conventional
approaches have generally not tread in the solution provided by the
embodiments of the invention because most companies/business
entities have consisted of traditional office workers (i.e.,
non-mobile employees). The embodiments of the invention were
developed to address a recent phenomena whereby companies are now
moving towards a much larger portion of nontraditional or mobile
workers (upwards of 40% in some cases). This shift has created a
need to allow much greater flexibility in supporting these mobile
workers from a services stand-point and associated budget.
[0041] Accordingly, the solution provided by the embodiments of the
invention has not been addressed before because (1) there has not
been a need in the past given the high percentage of traditional
office workers as discussed above; and (2) the means of automating
with objective information the association of personalized needs
with an appropriate budget has been far too complex in the past.
Further budgets are typically static in nature. Once a budget is
set it does not change very often and employees work to stay within
their expense budgets. Thus, the embodiments of the invention
create a dynamic aspect to budgets based on objective data
collected about the employee rather than subjective approaches
indicative of conventional solutions.
[0042] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will
so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others
can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for
various applications such specific embodiments without departing
from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and
modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the
meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It
is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed
herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
Therefore, while the invention has been described in terms of
preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that
the embodiments of the invention can be practiced with modification
within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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