3.1.5.3. Culture
The School’s culture can be described by three adjectives: cosmopolitan, professional and autonomous. The LSE tradition is being a nonconformist and these adjectives support this thematic narrative (LSE administration 26)

Cosmopolitanism
Due to the centrality of London for the commonwealth countries, the School’s outreach has been global from the start. As early as 1899, the director noted that students came from sixteen different countries (LSE web 3). Today only half of the undergraduate students are British, while nearly one third come from Asia (mostly India and China – Figure 1 - (ConStat, 2006). When looking at the composition of post-graduates LSE’s global reach is even more apparent. While half of the senior students come from EU countries, only 21% come from Britain itself. The same percentage as American students (21%), who appreciate the global reputation offered for less than what top American universities cost (LSE student 27). An impressive 23% of post-graduate students come from Asia. While these figures undoubtedly prove LSE’s global character, they also illustrate (less then 3% of LSE’s overall student population comes from developing countries) what has been described as the knowledge divide (UNESCO, 2005) or knowledge imperialism (Lyotard, 1984) through exclusive western higher education institutions.

Professionalism
The high reputation of the LSE mirrors itself naturally in a self-understanding of the employees as well as its students as being privileged and subsequently obliged towards high performance [i]. The academics are especially aware of this prestigious intellectual legacy and seem to demand and maintain a culture of excellence. The LSE is by far the university with the least negative statements among employees. Considering the high cost and academic level of the LSE, the professional attitude can also be described as elitist.

Autonomy
The scholars report to feel a high degree of freedom when it comes to pursuing their intellectual curiosity. And the freshman’s experience has been paraphrased as ‘sink or swim’ (LSE student 28), an alluring mix of excess, freedom and complexity which overwhelms many hapless newcomers. Even though the independence is actually embedded in a very streamlined system through which students are channelled, it is true that the individual’s autonomy is challenged. Without a rigorous set of benchmarks, newcomers are forced to orient themselves in a sea of choices when weighing and prioritizing the multitude of intellectual, social and cultural opportunities. Ultimately, the LSE is quite a liberal place that limits its directorial control to the assessment of milestone results [ii].

3.1.5.4. Organizational Learning
There is no organizational learning or knowledge management programme at the LSE. The School is however fortunate in that it has a rather small personnel and that it is physically compact. This, combined with a substantial volume of contact-information, both published on paper and online, results in an environment where information is available and questions can be addressed directly.

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[i] Interestingly this is not the case for both undergraduates and masters programs (cash cows), where status is lower and admittance is less difficult (LSE students 29).

[ii] Given the high reputation of the university, the milestones are proportionately high.

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