Systems and methods to enable collaborative human capital management

Systems and methods consistent with the instant invention may allow organizations to instantiate and participate in a collaborative network (i.e., a consortium) through which they can exchange intellectual capital. A governance may be established for regulating the collaborative network. In addition, a communications portal may be provided through which the organizations can exchange skills, competencies, and resources. Organizations may be able to publish, via the portal, their respective supply of and demand for intellectual capital. Organizations may be able search for and utilize employees of other organizations, collaboratively hire new employees, and collaboratively hire former employees.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to data communications systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for allowing businesses to exchange intellectual capital. In one example, a plurality of companies may establish and participate in a collaborative network, which enables them to identify, access, and disseminate information regarding human assets.

2. Description of the Related Art

An accepted measure of business performance is shareholder value. A primary determinant of this value is a company's ability to optimize its use of tangible and intangible assets. Often, a great deal of focus and effort is placed on increasing the productivity of tangible assets. These efforts typically include streamlining current business processes to accrue greater efficiencies and reduce redundancies.

However, the true potential for growth of shareholder value lies not in further focus on the tangible assets, but in the successful management and employment of intangible assets. Intangible assets, or intellectual capital, may include experience, resources, people (human capital), etc. Intangible assets may provide the basis for organizational renewal and sustainable competitive advantage.

Currently, the corporate landscape is in a state of flux. A “New Economy” is emerging, bringing about increased global activity marked by sustained deflationary pressures and continuous innovation. Technology and tangible assets enable this global activity. However, a firm's intangible assets are the key production factor for innovation and success. A firm's failure to leverage these intangible assets may result in declining performance of many well-established firms. In the new economy, the ability to generate increasing economic returns from managed competencies will be essential to a firm's ability to sustain and increase its value.

To cope with these pressures, firms are typically investing in three discrete areas. Human Capital Management (“HCM”) for people, Alliance Management (“AM”) for partners, and Knowledge Management (“KM”) for information. These functional areas are usually autonomous units having different objectives and goals. Generally, HCM is tasked with employee recruiting, development, and retention. Alliance Management involves the establishment and cultivation of relationships with business partners, while KM focuses on extracting enterprise information and sharing it within the organization. Although these areas are viewed as independent entities, they are bound by a common thread: the focus on intangible assets. Accordingly, it may be beneficial to bring the core tenets of HCM, AM, and KM together.

Further, given the importance of intangible assets and the difficulty of maintaining self-sufficiency in an environment that demands strategic focus, flexibility, and innovation, it may be beneficial to enable a group of alliance firms to manage and share intellectual capital, especially human capital. That is, increased value may be achieved by enabling a group of organizations to exchange their employees' intellectual capabilities. Enabling firms to effectively leverage and exchange skills, competencies, and resources with alliances may generate enhanced economic returns resulting in increased value.

SUMMARY

The instant invention is directed to methods and systems that may obviate one or more of the above and/or other problems by allowing firms to effectively leverage their intellectual capital. Systems and methods consistent with principles of the instant invention may provide business alliances with the ability to instantiate and participate in a collaborative network through which they can exchange skills, competencies, and resources. The instant invention may allow enterprises to realize enhanced economic returns and increased value.

One aspect of the present invention involves establishing a consortium of organizations. In one implementation, the consortium may comprise a plurality of individual organizations in alliance. The consortium, however, may also comprise one or more departments, or intra-organizational units, within a single organization. Moreover, the instant invention may involve establishing a plurality of consortiums. In one embodiment, an organization could be a member of more than one consortium.

Another aspect of the instant invention may involve establishing a governance for the consortium. That is, there may be methods provided for defining rules, processes, objectives, and procedures for a given consortium.

One aspect of the instant invention involves providing a communications interface through which the consortium members can interact. In one embodiment, the interface may include one or more portals for enabling the consortium to exchange skills, capabilities, knowledge, and resources. In exemplary configurations, portals may include websites providing internet, extranet, and/or intranet access.

In one embodiment, the present invention may facilitate the collaborative exchange of employees. Consistent with principles of the invention, one or more members of the consortium may publish information associated with their supply of employees. For example, information regarding employees who are currently idle and therefore available to work on projects may be published. In addition, one or more members of the consortium may publish information associated with their demand for such employees. For instance, current projects (or vacancies) that need staffing could be published. In one configuration, consortium member may publish their respective supply and demand information via the portal.

One aspect of the instant invention may involve allowing one or more members to access, via the portal, information associated with other members' employees (supply). In addition, a consortium member may be able to find available employees from other consortium members to work on projects based on a search criteria. In exemplary embodiments, searching, matching and/or other techniques may be employed to correlate available employees with vacancies. Consistent with principles of the instant invention, a consortium member (sourcing) may utilize an employee from another member (parent), while that employee remains employed by the parent organization.

Another aspect of the instant invention involves facilitating the collaborative hiring of new employees. In one embodiment, a hiring portal may be provided, which is accessible by the public or a subset of the public. On or more members of the consortium may publish, via the hiring portal, information associated with open positions in their organizations. Prospective applicants may be able to register to view and apply for these available positions via the portal. Consistent with principles of the instant invention, one or more consortium members may receive an application for employment and may refer the applicant to other consortium members.

An additional aspect of the present invention involves facilitating the collaborative re-hiring of alumni. In one embodiment, former employees, or alumni, may be able to access the communications interface and apply to one or more members of the consortium. Given their previous employment status, the alumni may be given greater access to information published by consortium members.

A further aspect of the invention may involve using product or service lifecycles to forecast or manage the exchange of human capital. For example, consortium members may be able to publish predictions relating to future supply and demand based on the lifecycle of a particular product or service. For instance, a software company could have a product in the development stage and may publish, via the communications interface, a forecasted need for employees with experience in product deployment.

The present invention may allow networked companies to create value by enhancing the innovative capacity of the participating firms; increasing employee satisfaction, development, and retention; and strengthening business alliances by bolstering partner trust and enabling partners to identify the optimal project resources. Thus, by enabling the exchange of intellectual capital, the instant invention may significantly increase the ability of an enterprise to out-perform its competitors.

Additional aspects related to the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Aspects of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing and the following descriptions are exemplary and explanatory only and are not intended to limit the claimed invention in any manner whatsoever.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements throughout the figures. The accompanying figures illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention, which are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It is to be understood that other implementations may be utilized and that structural and method changes may be made without departing from the scope of present invention. The following discussion is, therefore, not to be construed in a limiting sense.

Consistent with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, methods may be provided for enabling two or more organizations to exchange intellectual capital. One embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the screen shot ofFIG. 1. As illustrated inFIG. 1, the present invention may involve providing a portal (e.g., website105) through which each organization can publish and acquire information associated with the collective supply of and demand for intellectual capital. For purposes of explanation, three organizations (Ace Co., ABC Corp, and XYZ, Inc.) are used inFIG. 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the portal may be configured to provide extranet access to these organizations. As illustrated, Ace Co. may be able to search available employees published by ABC Corp, and XYZ, Inc. (supply) to work on a project (demand) via the portal. For example, employees may be searched by their availability. In one configuration searching and/or matching processes may be employed to perform searches. Upon initiating a search, a list of available employees may be presented from which Ace Co. may choose. In addition, Ace Co. may be able to post upcoming or forecasted projects (demand) and its available employees (supply). Ace Co, may also be able to refer new applicants or previous employees to either ABC Corp, and XYZ, Inc. In exemplary implementations, upon completion of a project, Ace Co. may be able to complete a satisfaction survey regarding the performance of a particular employee. In one configuration, the completed survey may be used in the matching process in subsequent searches. For example, if Ace Co. had a particularly positive experience with a certain employee from ABC Corp., that employee might be given greater weight in a subsequent search made by Ace Co.

The foregoing discussion is intended to introduce and provide initial clarity for some of the aspects associated with the present invention by referring to the exemplary embodiment depicted inFIG. 1. Further details of this embodiment as well as additional aspects and embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following discussion.

As indicated by step210in the flowchart ofFIG. 2, a method consistent with the present invention may include establishing a consortium. As used herein, the term “consortium” refers to any association or combination of organizations. Organizations may include, but are not limited to, corporations, partnerships, firms, enterprises, service providers, manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, educational institutions, and government agencies. A consortium may comprise any number of organizations. In addition, a consortium may comprise any number of subdivisions or departments within one or more organizations. For example, a single corporation may have several independent business areas, or “intra-organizational units,” which form (or are included in) a consortium. In an exemplary embodiment, the consortium may be formed among business alliances. That is, the consortium may be formed among organizations sharing a common objective or goal.

Consistent with principles of the present invention, an organization may be a member of a plurality of consortiums. For example, a single firm could be a member of several independent consortiums while also having an intra-organizational consortium. Additionally or alternatively, each intra-organizational unit within a firm could be included in one or more consortiums.

Moreover, it should be understood that a consortium may be scalable. That is, organizations or intra-organizational units could be added and/or removed at any time.

Establishing a consortium may further involve identifying objectives and establishing a consortium governance. As used herein, the term “consortium governance” refers to rules, procedures, and processes for the consortium. The governance may define rules of engagement and boundaries for information exchange. For example, there may be rules defined for regulating personal conduct; the exchange of confidential information; inter-organizational competition; disputes; and remedies for noncompliance.

Consistent with principles of the present invention, methods may be provided for enabling data exchange within a given consortium, as indicated in step220ofFIG. 2. In one embodiment, this may involve establishing an underlying infrastructure for communicating information. For example, each member of a given consortium may be interconnected via, or included in, a communications network, enabling private data exchange between consortium members. The communications network may provide the underlying infrastructure for information exchange between consortium members. Additional details of such a network will be explained below in connection withFIG. 6.

As illustrated in step230ofFIG. 2, a method of the present invention may include providing an interface through which members of a given consortium can interact and access information. In one configuration, this step may involve creating a communications portal. As used herein, the term “portal” refers to a gateway through which consortium members can identify, access, and acquire information. In one implementation, the communications portal could be implemented via one or more websites maintained by one or more consortium members. The portal may provide features including, but not limited to, data access and searching, categorization, personalization options, data profiling, and application integration.

Consistent with principles of the instant invention, the portal could be configured to provide varying levels of accessibility, depending on the consortium configuration. Thus, the portal could be configured as an intranet website, accessible by intra-organizational units; an extranet website, providing inter-organizational access; or an internet website, accessible by all or a portion of the general public. In addition, the portal may include a combination of intranet, extranet, and internet websites. For instance, certain portions of the portal may be restricted to consortium members (intranet or extranet), while other portions may be accessible to the public (internet). An exemplary implementation of a communications portal is illustrated inFIG. 1(website105) and will be described in connection withFIG. 7.

Consistent with principles of the instant invention a consortium member may restrict portal access to a subset of its workforce (e.g., senior partners). Thus, methods may be provided for performing user authentication and authorization. In one implementation, user authentication may be performed via logon passwords. For example, a user may register, or be registered by the consortium, using an assigned or self-declared password. However, other mechanisms for performing user authentication may be employed such as a public key infrastructure (PKI) employing public key cryptography.

Upon successful authentication, a user may be authorized to access information via the portal. In one embodiment, different users may be provided varying levels of authorization. For instance, certain users may be restricted from accessing particular information. Further, certain users may be able to access, publish, and modify information, while others may be restricted to viewing the information. In addition, members of a given consortium may not be authorized to modify other consortium members' published information. The levels of authorization for users may be established in the consortium governance.

In accordance with principles of the instant invention, methods may be provided for allowing consortium members to publish their supply of and demand for intellectual capital. This is graphically depicted by step240ofFIG. 2. As used herein, the term “intellectual capital” refers to assets or resources relating to intellectual capabilities. Intellectual capital may include “human capital,” which is a form of capital based on the intellectual capabilities of employees.

Consortium members may be able to publish information associated with their respective demands for intellectual capital via the portal. For example, an organization may publish its current projects which need staffing and/or current job openings. Demand information could also be information requests. For example, an organization could post requests for information regarding specific topics which other members might have more experience with.

Consortium members may additionally or alternatively publish information regarding their supply of intellectual capital via the portal. For example, one or more organizations in a consortium may publish their supply of employees. In addition, information associated with each employee including, but not limited to, background, professional experience, expertise, hourly wages, available work dates may be made available to consortium members. If the portal is an internet website, an applicant from the general public (outside the consortium) may be able to access the portal and apply for a posted job opening. In this fashion, supply information may be obtained from the public domain. In addition, supply information could also be published from consortium member employees that have limited access to the portal. For example, a firm may allow its associates to refer prospective applicants via the portal, while restricting them from further access. Moreover, a members supply of intellectual capital could be pure knowledge or experience in a certain business or technical area.

In one implementation, the supply of and demand for intellectual capital may be maintained in databases coupled to the portal. Further details of such a database will be described in connection withFIG. 7.

Upon publishing their supply of and demand for intellectual capital, the consortium members may be enabled, via methods of the instant invention, to manage their intellectual capital. This is indicated by step250ifFIG. 2. Consistent with principles of the instant invention, human capital management may include, but is not limited to, “collaborative employee deployment,” “collaborative employee hiring,” and “collaborative employee rehiring.”

“Collaborative employee deployment,” which is graphically depicted inFIG. 3a, refers to the exchange (or borrowing) of employees between consortium members. In the exemplary embodiment depicted inFIG. 3a, organizations310,320, and330may each have access to portal300, which may be configured to provide extranet access. In operation, methods for collaborative employee deployment may be consistent with the steps illustrated in the flowchart ofFIG. 3b. As indicated in step350, consortium members may publish, via the communications portal, information associated with their supply of and demand for intellectual capital. For example, organizations310,320, and330could each publish information associated with their respective supply of employees and their demand, or vacancies (e.g. projects that need staffing). In addition, step350may involve publishing forecasted supply and demand information, which may, as previously indicated, be based on a product lifecycle.

As step355indicates, methods may also be provided for matching or correlating employees with vacancies. This step may involve allowing a sourcing organization to search for employees from other consortium members. For example, if organization310has a software project which requires five developers, organization310(sourcing org.) could search, via the portal, for people with software development experience that are employed by organizations320and330(parent orgs). In one implementation, information associated with the employees may be stored in one or more databases and the portal may contain (or be coupled to) a search engine, which accepts a search criteria, searches the database, and returns one or more employees. The search criteria may include, but is not limited to, availability, wages, experience, education, training, peer recommendations, geographic information, previous project experience, and specific technical and/or business knowledge. Thus, organization310could search for five employees with software development skills that are available to work during a specific time period. Additionally or alternatively, methods may be provided for automatically finding an optimal match based on parameterized data. For example, organization310could request the five most optimal employees for the software development project given the requirements of the project and the search engine could select and present the appropriate employees via portal300.

Upon correlating employees with a given vacancy, terms may be established, as indicated by step360. For example, organization310(sourcing) may establish terms with organization320and330(parent organizations) for borrowing their respective employees. Step360may involve defining compensation amounts and schedules, length of assignments, and chains of command for employees. Once the terms are established, the vacancy or project may be executed (step365). For example, employees from organizations320and330could travel to organization310to complete the software development project. Employees could also execute projects remotely from their home offices.

After a project is completed, the project may be reported and analyzed, as indicated in step370. This step may involve invoicing and providing feedback on the borrowed employees. In one embodiment, portal300may contain an on-line survey which may be completed by sourcing organizations upon project completion. The survey may elicit from a sourcing organization information including, but not limited to, satisfaction with the borrowed employees, quality of employee's work, employee's work ethic, and/or a numerical rating. For example, organization310could provide feedback (via the survey) regarding the five employees it borrowed from organizations320and330to complete its software project. In one exemplary implementation, the feedback may be used in subsequent employee-vacancy correlations. For example, if organization310gives a particular employee a negative rating, that employee may be excluded from a subsequent search by organization310. Conversely, if organization310gives a particular employee a favorable evaluation, that employee may be accentuated or presented first in a subsequent search. For instance, in a subsequent search for employees, portal300may display prospective employees along with a feedback indicator (numerical score, symbol, etc.) for each, indicating prior experience. In one example, the feedback rating may be a number representing the amount of favorable and negative ratings provided by one or more sourcing organizations. Thus, a sourcing organization may be able to quickly identify preferred employees.

As step375indicates, compensation may occur after project completion. This step may involve, for example, sourcing organization310paying the borrowed employees directly, or indirectly by way of their respective parent organization(s). This step may also involve paying employees bonuses from the parent and/or sourcing organization(s).

As indicated in step380, portal300and/or the database(s) may be updated to reflect project completion and employee experience. This step may also involve updating supply of and demand for intellectual capital. That is, organizations may be able to publish additional employees, remove existing employees, publish new projects, and remove completed projects.

The steps illustrated in the flowchart ofFIG. 3bare consistent with one exemplary implementation of the instant invention. It should, therefore, be understood that other method steps may be used, and even with the method depicted inFIG. 3b, the particular order of events may vary without departing from the scope of the present invention. Further, certain steps may not be present, additional steps may be added, and the order of the steps may be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, as claimed.

As previously indicated, human capital management may additionally or alternatively include “collaborative employee hiring,” which is graphically depicted inFIG. 4. This form of human capital management may involve referring applicants among consortium members. Collaborative employee hiring may broaden the effective applicant pool, thereby allowing consortium members to attract a higher percentage of qualified applicants. Methods for enabling collaborative employee hiring may involve providing a hiring portal400, which provides internet and extranet access. That is, consortium members as well as applicants from the general public may have access to hiring portal400. In one embodiment, the internet access may be more limited to the extranet access. Thus, applicants may be restricted from certain areas of hiring portal400. In one configuration, hiring portal400may be configured to identify the consortium members and may communicate to applicants that their information may be shared among the consortium members

As illustrated inFIG. 4, consortium members (310,320, and330) may publish their respective demand for applicants by way of publishing one or more job openings via hiring portal400. In one embodiment, applicants may register via hiring portal400to access and apply for these job openings. In alternative embodiments, access to job openings may be provided to the general public.

As illustrated, applicant401may apply for a job opening published by organization310. In exemplary embodiments, hiring portal400may allow applicant401to search published job openings based on a search criteria. Thus an applicant may, for example, be able to search job openings based on geographic location, pay, title or position, term of employment, and field. Applying for a job may involve completing an electronic resume via hiring portal400and/or emailing or mailing a resume to an organization. Applying may also involve answering questions and/or completing an on-line employment application.

AsFIG. 4indicates, upon receiving an application from applicant401, and optionally requesting additional information from the applicant, organization310may refer applicant401to organization330. This referral may be based on information published in the communications portal not accessible to applicant401, such as workforce deficiencies (demand) published by organization330.

Human capital management may additionally or alternatively include “collaborative employee rehiring,” which is graphically depicted inFIG. 5. This form of human capital management may enable a former employee, or alumni, to apply for jobs with a given consortium given that the employee has a prior affiliation with at least one consortium member. Consortium members may share information about recent alumni to prevent employees from defecting to the competition.

In one embodiment, collaborative employee rehiring may be consistent with collaborative employee hiring, as described above in connection withFIG. 4. However, in certain implementations, alumni may be automatically registered to apply for jobs and/or may be given greater access to information within the communications portal. In addition, there may be a less stringent application process used with alumni in comparison to new applicants.

Methods consistent with an exemplary implementation of the present invention may be practiced in system60ofFIG. 6. System60may comprise a consortium600, which is further comprised of organizations310,320, and330. As illustrated, organizations310,320and330may include servers611,622, and633, respectively. In addition each organization may include at least one user terminal (625). Although three organizations are illustrated, any number of geographically dispersed organizations may be included in consortium600. Likewise, any number of servers and user terminals may exist within consortium600. In addition, consortium600may be scalable. That is, organizations may be dynamically added and/or removed from consortium600. Moreover, a skilled artisan will realize that a plurality of consortiums could be included in system60.

Organizations310,320, and330may be interconnected via, or included in, network675. Network675may be the Internet, a virtual private network, a broadband digital network or any other structure for enabling communication between two or more nodes or locations. Network675may include one or more wired and/or wireless connections. Network675may employ communication protocols such as Transmission Control and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Ethernet, or any other compilation of procedures for controlling communications among network locations. Servers611,622, and633and the user terminals (625) may be operatively connected to network675by communication devices and software known in the art, such as those commonly employed by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or as part of an Internet gateway. Servers611,622, and633and the user terminals may also be assigned network identifiers (ID). The ID's may, in one configuration, be encoded as IP addresses. However, the ID's may be any symbol, value, tag, or identifier used for addressing, identifying, relating, or referencing a particular network device.

FIG. 7illustrates one particular combination of components that could be included in server611. As illustrated, server611may comprise a memory device705; a processor710; a network interface715; and a data port720. In one configuration, one or more of the components residing in server611may be scalable in order to accommodate additional services, data, clients, and/or consortium members.

Memory device705may be any mechanism capable of storing information including, but not limited to, RAM, ROM, magnetic and optical storage, organic storage, audio disks, and video disks. Although a single memory device is shown, any number of memory devices may be included in server611, and each may be configured for performing distinct functions.

As illustrated inFIG. 7, memory device705may further comprise portal711, database712, encryption software714, and security mechanism716. Database712may be a relational database, distributed database, object-oriented programming database, or any other mechanism for accessing, managing, and updating an aggregation of data. In one configuration, database712may contain organization310's supply and demand information. For the sake of brevity,FIG. 7depicts a single database residing in server611. However, it should be understood that a plurality of databases may exist in server611. In addition, database712may reside external to server611and may be coupled to the server(s) and/or user terminal(s) via network675.

Portal711may be coupled to database712and may provide access to information contained in database712. Portal711may be one or more websites providing extranet, intranet, and/or internet access for consortium600. As previously explained, portal711may provide features including but not limited to data access, categorization, personalization options, data profiling, and application integration. In addition, portal711may contain or be coupled to a search engine for performing data searches and correlations.

Encryption software714may be used to secure data maintained in database712and data published and/or transmitted via portal711. Security mechanism716may be responsible for authentication and/or authorization processes.

For clarity of explanation, portal711, encryption software714, and security mechanism716are described as discrete functional elements. However, it should be understood that the functionality of these elements may overlap and/or may exist in a single package. Moreover, all or part of the functionality of these elements may co-exist or be distributed among several servers and/or user terminals. In addition, it should be understood that portal711may be maintained by a single consortium member (while provided to the entire consortium), or may be distributed among one or more of the consortium members. For example, each consortium member could maintain a separate and personalized portal, each of which are coupled via network675and configured to interact.

In one configuration, server611may include processor710, which is operatively configured to execute program instructions. Processors710may be configured for routing information among components and devices and for executing computer instructions received from portal711, encryption software714, and security mechanism716.

Server611may be connected to network675via network interface715which may be operatively connected via a wired and/or wireless communications link. Network interface715may be any mechanism for sending information to and receiving information from network675, such as a network card and an Ethernet port, or to any other network such as an attached Ethernet LAN, serial line, etc. As illustrated, server611may additionally comprise a data port720for transmitting data serially or in parallel.

A skilled artisan will realize that servers622and633may be similar in structure to server611. However, in certain implementations, server622and633may lack certain elements contained in server611or contain additional or varying elements.

In one configuration, user terminal625may include components similar to those described in connection with server611, such as network interface715, and processor710(e.g., CPU120). However, user terminal625may be structurally different from server611and may have varying or additional components. User terminal625may be a personal computer, mobile computing device (e.g., a PDA), mobile communications device (e.g., a cell phone), or any other structure that enables a user to remotely access information. In alternative embodiments, user terminal625could be a kiosk or “dumb” terminal coupled to server611. In one exemplary implementation, user terminal625may comprise a display device820, an input device850, and a memory860.

As illustrated, user terminal625may comprise memory860, which may be of similar structure to memory device705in server611. However, in certain configurations, memory860may have less storage capacity than memory device705in order to reduce cost and size.

As illustrated, memory860may further comprise encryption software875. Encryption software875may, for example, allow the terminal to decrypt and access encrypted data from server611.

In addition, client625may include display device820, which may be configured to output text, images, or any other type of information by way of a cathode ray tube, liquid crystal, light-emitting diode, gas plasma, or other type of display mechanism. For example, display device820may be a computer monitor such as monitor130. Display device820may be used in conjunction with input device850for allowing user interaction.

Input device850may include at least one button actuated by the user to input commands and thereby select from a plurality of processor operating modes. Input device850may include components such as keyboard110, a mouse, and/or a touch screen. Input device850may additionally or alternatively include a data reading device and/or an input port.

It should be understood that processes described herein are not inherently related to any particular apparatus and may be implemented by any suitable combination of components. Further, various types of general purpose devices may be used in accordance with the teachings described herein. It may also prove advantageous to construct specialized apparatus to perform the method steps described herein.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the systems and methods of the present invention as well as in the construction of this invention without departing from the scope of or spirit of the invention.

The present invention has been described in relation to a particular example which is intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many different combinations of hardware, software, and firmware will be suitable for practicing the present invention.

Moreover, other implementations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only. To this end, it is to be understood that inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed implementation or configuration. Thus, the true scope and spirit of the invention is indicated by the following claims.