The diagrams below show a typical American and a typical Japanese office. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The diagrams illustrate how a standard office is laid out in Japan compared with its counterpart in the United States.

Overall

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, it is clear from the plans that the Japanese design is open and arranged around the managers,

whereas

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the American version is divided into separate rooms and personal workstations, so privacy is much greater in the latter. The first plan reveals that the department manager sits alone at the top of the room beside the windows, facing the whole staff. Below him, a pair of section heads are positioned in front of two large tables, where approximately six employees work side by side with no partitions.

Furthermore

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, there are no meeting spaces or cupboards, which means that almost all the floor is used for desks.

By contrast

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, the second plan shows a different structure. The windows run along both sides,

while

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a copy room, a storage area and a couple of conference rooms occupy the left-hand edge. In the centre, eight workers sit at individual desks separated by low screens.

Moreover

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, the three supervisors each have a private office on the right, situated well away from their teams.

Consequently

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, if a Japanese worker moved to

this

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layout, they would find far less direct contact with their superiors.