垣根: a garden hedge and departmental barriers
Compare trimming a garden’s 垣根 with crossing 部署の垣根 to exchange ideas. Follow a physical fence or hedge and the figurative barrier between departments.
A garden hedge being trimmed
垣根 (かきね) means a fence or barrier. 「庭の垣根を低く刈り、道路から見通せるようにした。」 means “We trimmed the garden hedge low enough to see in from the road.” The example names the physical hedge trimmed low in the garden.
低く刈り describes trimming the garden hedge low. Seeing in from the road also concerns this physical hedge.
A barrier between departments
「部署の垣根を越えて、社員が意見を交換した。」 means “Employees exchanged ideas across departmental barriers.” 部署の垣根 names figurative departmental barriers.
Here, 垣根を越えて describes exchanging ideas across departmental boundaries. It does not describe employees physically crossing the garden hedge.
The target and its associated action
The garden’s 垣根 is a physical hedge trimmed low. 部署の垣根 is a barrier crossed when employees exchange ideas. Read the word’s target together with the associated action.
社員 are the people exchanging ideas in the second example. Crossing departmental barriers describes that exchange; it does not state that the departments merged.
How do the target and action differ between trimming the garden’s 垣根 and 部署の垣根を越えて?
Show the answer and why
The first concerns trimming a physical garden hedge low. The second figuratively describes employees exchanging ideas across departmental barriers. The same word names different targets.