Page:Graphic methods for presenting facts (1914).djvu/205

 change from year to year in the average size or weight of package handled. The average weight of package might happen to be 150 pounds, and, considering a whole year, there would probably be very little change in the average weight from month to month. Thus, for our purpose here, the term "piece" or "package" refers simply to the average package handled in different divisions or departments of the work under consideration.

In order to obtain the data regarding the orders referred to in Fig. 157, Fig. 158 and Fig. 159 the order slips are sorted into different piles according to some definitely thought-out plan by which there would not be too many or too few orders in any one class or size group. A little preliminary trial work in sorting would show the best places to set the class limits for sorting the orders into separate piles. After the orders have been separated into piles, it is a simple matter to count the number of orders in each pile to obtain the data from which curve "D" is plotted. It will be noticed from the shape of the curve that the upper and lower limits for each class are well selected so that there is a fairly uniform decrease in the number of orders in each group as the size of the orders increases. The order slips in the different piles sorted according to the size of the order are taken to an adding machine, and addition made to obtain the total number of packages carried by the combined orders found in any one pile or class. This gives the data from which curve "C" is plotted. Though curve "D" shows a constantly decreasing number of orders as the size of the orders becomes greater, curve "C" proves that there is an increasing number of packages handled as the orders grow larger toward the right-hand side of the chart.

Though there are not so many orders of large size as of small size, the small numbers of large orders nevertheless carry many more packages than the large numbers of small orders. The executive is, of course, interested in revenue and, for revenue purposes, as mentioned above, all packages may be considered of the same size. Revenue obviously depends upon the number of packages handled, rather than on the number of orders handled. Curve "C", then, shows at a glance that the small number of large orders are of much greater interest to the financial manager than the large number of small orders.

Fig. 157 shows that during the ten-days test period there were no orders in this particular class of work which exceeded two hundred packages. Curves "D" and "C", though interesting, do not show all