The Evolution of Norms in Trade and Financial Networks in the First Global Age: the case of Simon Ruiz's network

In the 16th century, merchants and bankers gained a social influence and political relevance, due to their capacity of ‘faire travailler l’argent des autres’ (Benassar 1972:50). For the success of their activity, they built evolving networks with cooperative partners. These networks were much more than the sum of all partners. In the case study of the Castilian merchant Simon Ruiz, the network functioned in an unique way and independent from any formal institutional control. Its functioning varied in how different partners were associated and the particular characteristics and contents of these social ties. Being a self-organized network, since the formal institutions of trade regulation and the Crown control didn’t influence the network functioning, the Simon Ruiz network was deeply embedded in the economic and financial performance of the Hispanic Empires, in two different ways. The first, purely commercial. The monopolistic regime which was applied by the two crowns in the trade of certain colonial goods was insufficient to the costs of imperial maintenance. In such manner, particulars tried to rent a contract of exploration of trade, paying an annual sum to the crown, as in the Portuguese trade. Some of these agents also moved along Simon Ruiz’s network. But others were involved in relations with the imperial crowns on a second way, the finance. Maintaining Empires implied a lot of human, technical but also financial means, and most of the times Kings were forced to recur to these merchants, as we will demonstrate. What were the implications of these collaborative relations in both parts? The main goal of this paper is to comprehend the evolution of informal norms within Simon Ruiz’s network and how they influenced cooperative behavior of the agents, particularly analyzing mechanisms of sanctioning, control, punishment and reward, as well as their consequences in different dimensions: future interactions, social repercussions and in agent’s economic health and activity. The research is based in the bills of exchange and commercial correspondence of the private archive of Simon Ruiz, located in the Provincial Archive of Valladollid, Spain.

As relações bi-unívocas entre a liderança e a cultura organizacional num serviço de imagiologia

Este estudo assenta nas relações entre liderança e cultura organizacional num serviço de imagiologia, entendendo-se, assim, que o papel do líder é fundamental para a orientação e o desenvolvimento do trabalho, através de condutas e estratégias que se adaptem às diversas situações. Deste modo, achou-se pertinente perceber o conceito de liderança, as suas abordagens teóricas e o modo como este conceito poderá ser posto em prática ao nível das instituições, contribuindo para fortalecer a comunicação e a cultura organizacional. No que respeita à cultura organizacional, esta resume-se a um conjunto de normas e comportamentos, os quais são utilizados pelas pessoas de forma a interagirem numa organização. Outra questão fundamental passa pela comunicação no seio da cultura organizacional, sendo um factor de extrema relevância, no que respeita à estrutura na sociedade e no funcionamento das organizações. Distinguem-se dois tipos de comunicação: a formal, uma comunicação sistemática; e a informal, uma comunicação assistemática. Em resumo, conclui-se que a liderança, movida pela comunicação, se trata de um processo em que as atitudes e os comportamentos dos líderes, bem como dos seus seguidores, incidem sobre a sua eficácia, a qual está, igualmente, dependente do contexto da cultura organizacional. ABSTRACT: This study builds on the relationship between leadership and organizational culture in a department of imaging, it being understood that, the role of leader is crucial to the direction and development of work, through pipelines and strategies that adapt to different situations. Thus, it is thought appropriate understand the concept of leadership, their theoretical approaches and how this concept could be implemented within the institutions, helping to strengthen communication and organizational culture. Regarding the organizational culture, this boils down to a number of norms and behaviours, which are used by people in order to interact in an organization. lt is assumed as a system of values, expressed through rituals, myths, beliefs and habits common to members of a particular institution, which produces widely accepted norms of behaviour by the group. Another key issue is through communication within the organizational culture, being a factor of extreme importance, with regard to the structure in society and the functioning of organizations. There are two types of communication: the formal, a systematic communication, and informally, a communications patchy. lt is through communication that are solved most problems, and is used to exploit many opportunities, managing organizational balanced life. ln summary, it appears that leadership, driven by communication, this is a process in which the attitudes and behaviours of leaders and their followers, focusing on its effectiveness, which is also dependent on context the organizational culture.