GAGING A COMPLICATED SITUATION BY A SIMPLE GRAPHIC CHART.

The article presents a case study pertaining to the use of graphic methods by U.S. industries. The study focuses on a U.S. paper manufacturer. In 1924 the company's management sought to measure the daily changes in flow of orders. A study was pursued both on the company's flow of work by the truckload and by its orders. The number or orders versus the number of trucks was instituted as the unit of measure. The labor required by the planning, shipping, billing, and accounting departments was proportional to the number of orders. The company chose the coefficient of dispersion method to calculate its average. This method gives extreme weight to variations in averages.