The graph compares two office layouts, one typical of Japan and the other of American style.
Overall, the office layout in Japan has been designed to separate the working environment, between department manager and section manager, equipping only tables and chairs. In contrast, the American office provides individual workspaces and additional room for specific functions and sectors.
In a typical Japanese office, the desk in the workplace for department manager is located near the window and at the head of the office where they can look and manage employees in the room. There are two section managers desks in front of the department managers desk. In addition, the section managers are able to monitor their colleagues sitting at six desks in front of them.
The department manager’s workspace in an American office is situated in one corner of the room, next to two section managers’ offices. Meanwhile, the employees desks are organized in two rows in the middle of the workspace. The office layout in America includes a printer room, a storage, and two conference rooms on the left side of the room. Finally, the office has more windows than Japan’s, installed on two sides of the room.