Through the years, there have been a lot of generated definitions of knowledge management (KM) that it would be best to think of it in the broadest context. But then again, it all boils down to the concept of business process improvement. KM programs are typically associated with meeting organizational objectives that include the following: competitive advantage, improved performance, developmental processes, innovation and general development of collaborative practices. According to Angus and Patel, there are four processes involved in KM and these are:

(a) Gathering (e.g. data entry, pulling information from various sources) (b) Organizing (e.g. indexing, linking) (c) Refining (e.g. collaborating, projecting) (d) Disseminating (e.g. sharing, alert)

To address certain business requirements of the company, there is a need to devise a knowledge management plan that involves a survey of corporate goals and a close examination of both traditional and technical tools for knowledge integration. Because of this, two forms of KM were developed: first-generation KM and second-generation KM. If the first-generation KM is focused only to enhance the integration of current organizational knowledge through strategies, the second-generation KM strives to improve knowledge production as well.

As a result, KM programs were developed for the purpose of achieving shorter new product development cycles, making available increased knowledge content in the development and delivery of products and services, facilitating organizational learning and innovation, and leveraging employee's expertise within the organization. In addition, a lot of new job opportunities were generated, each having their own unique roles and responsibilities in the organization. Indeed, a dedicated KM staff should be in place for proper implementation of KM enterprise-wide efforts within the organization.