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This study aims to contribute to the Knowledge Management Theory under a social perspective. It evaluates the Knowledge Management Cycle applied in a Brazilian high technology-based industry, a former national company which had been privatized in 1994, and passed through a huge organizational transformation and, after few years, became a market leader in one of the most competitive business sectors. Social organization covers Corporative Culture, Human Resources and Leadership aspects seen as knowledge enablers. This research used a qualitative approach and took a Knowledge Management Model developed by the Fraunhoffer Institute researchers and associates as a reference. Conclusions indicated that in order to become competitive in the new Management Model the studied company had to develop a cluster of human and business competencies. These were developed through educational processes which included personnel and leadership development. Organizational Culture had also contributed to KM process nurturing a sense of continuous improvement, customer and shareholder satisfaction.

The authors have conducted a series of positive researches on the topic of state-society relationship in contemporary Mainland China. Through an examination of the actual state control over a great many organizations, this paper proposes the concept of a “system of graduated controls”. Based on this system, the government, out of consideration for their benefits, takes different control strategies on different social organizations according to the social organization's capability and the public goods they offer. In other words, it is a new system where the government implements an overall control on the society and offer public goods by means of a non-governmental method in a new economic environment. Through comparing with other state-society relationships, this paper points out that the graduated control system is a new “ideal type” for state-society relationship.