Having been away and just read through this whole thread, I am reminded of
one of the most revealing differences between the prevailing cultures of
American and Japanese offices.
In most American offices if I want to speak to a colleague I go to his/her
office door. If the person is tapping away at the word processor, writing,
shuffling through a filing cabinet, or engaged in other such clearly busy
activities my impulse is to go away and wait for a more opportune moment.
But in a most Japanese offices the opposite is the case. If I go to a
colleague's door and s/he is chewing a pen and gazing at the ceiling, or
staring out of the window, THEN I go away - for it is at those times that
I know that the most important work is going on
-- Phillip Capper Centre for Research on Work, Education and Business Wellington New Zealand pcapper@actrix.gen.nz