The diagram illustrates the layout of a typical American and a Japanese office.
Overall, the two office designs are completely different. While the Japanese office is designed to encourage cooperation and communication among staff, the American office reflects independence and individual working style.
In terms of setting arrangement, personnel in the Japanese office are organised into two sections, with employees’ desks placed close together and parallel to each other around rectangular tables. The section managers’ desks are located at the head of each group so that they can supervise their team members easily, while the department managers’ desk sits in a central position to oversee the whole office. By contrast, the American office contains L-shaped desks arranged in the middle of the office, providing individual workspaces for employees. The offices of both the section managers and the department manager are situated on the right-hand side.
Regarding other features, the Japanese office has only one large window located behind the department managers’ desk. In comparison, the American office features windows on the eastern and the western walls, allowing more natural light to enter the workspace. Furthermore, the American office includes functional facilities such as printer and copier room, storage space, and two conference rooms on the left-hand side, which are not present in the Japanese office.