Band 9: The graph below shows a typical American and a Japanese office. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and comparisons where relevant.

The diagram compares the typical layout of an American office to that of a Japanese office.

Overall, an office in Japan tends to have a centralized and open-plan design , with managers and employees sharing a single open space. Meanwhile, the American design is more divided, with separate areas for individual workers and enclosed rooms for managers and facilities.

In the Japanese layout, the office is a large open space with two entrances positioned at the back left and back right corners. A large window runs along the wall, in front of which is the area of the department manager. On both sides of the room lie two groups of workstations, each headed by a section manager. The employees sit around these shared desk groups, creating a visible and collaborative seating arrangement.

The American office, however, is more divided and private than the Japanese office. While the Japanese layout has shared desk clusters and managers sitting in one open space, the American layout uses individual workstations in the center and separate offices for the section managers and department manager. This design also has more doors, with one at each corner. Moreover, the American office includes several rooms for other facilities, such as printing, conferences and storage.