How to work with graphs and statistics

Practice with numbers How do you say the following numbers: 100, ¾ 1,000, ,602 45/8 1,000,000,00065%536,

Numbers Hundreds, thousands, millions and billions 100 a hundred 250 two hundred and fifty 1,000 a thousand 5,400 five thousand, four hundred 10,650 ten thousand, six hundred and fifty 100,000 a hundred thousand 240,000 two hundred and forty thousand 500,000 five hundred thousand (or half a million) 1,000,000 a million 1,000,000,000 a billion

NUMBERS It is important to be able to say and understand numbers in business contexts. You may need to give or receive details over the phone or during a face-to-face discussion. Remember to ask for clarification and check that you have received or have given the right numbers.

Numbers Pronunciation Be careful of the difference in pronunciation between numbers like thirteen and thirty; nineteen and ninety etc. Misunderstandings could cause problems.

Numbers The number 0 We say zero, oh or nought. Zero can be used to talk about any kind of number: 0.25zero point two five Tel: three zero five six six seven zero Room 702seven zero two You can also use nought before a decimal point and oh after it. 0.56nought point five six 0.202nought point two oh two Oh is also used in telephone and fax numbers, room numbers, reference numbers and account numbers. (See Dates) three four six oh nine two eight Room 6065six oh six five Ref number 3408 three four oh eight

Numbers Telephone and fax numbers Say each digit separately, except for 'doubles' which you can join together two one oh four eight five four seven one double six one or four seven one six six one We often group the digits, putting a slight pause between the groups, as this makes it easier to say and to understand the number two one, three four, eight five two one three, four eight five Note that it is not usual to say twenty-one, thirty-four, eighty-five in English.

Numbers Decimals In British English it is usual to say each individual digit after the decimal point. This is not the case in American English. BrE AmE 4.56 four point five six four point fifty-six nought point one seven fivezero point one hundred seventy-five Note that in English we use and say point for decimals, not comma.

Numbers Dates There are various ways to write dates, but to avoid confusion write the month as a word rather than a number. Write Say 1 October 1999the first of October nineteen ninety-nine October 1, 1999October the first, nineteen ninety-nine. 1875eighteen seventy-five 1904 nineteen oh four or nineteen hundred and four 2000two thousand 2004two thousand and four

Numbers Other numbers 20% twenty per cent 1 / 2 a half 3 / 4 three quarters or three fourths (AmE) 3 1 / 2 three and a half

Understanding graphs A pie chart is useful when you want to show how a total amount is divided up, for example a budget, your profits, imports and exports. A bar chart is effective for comparing or contrasting results and figures from different sources or groups, for example ownership of various consumer goods. A line graph is the best way of showing changes over a period of time, for example changes in currency values, the inflation rate, or company profits. A pictogram is essentially the same as a bar chart but uses images or symbols instead of rectangular bars to show the amounts.

Understanding graphs Scatter Diagrams What it is used For To identify relationships between two process variables. When to use it When the team thinks that one variable is dependent on another. To confirm that two variables have a relationship.

Understanding graphs Scatter diagram

Understanding graphs

Presenting Information as a graph When you want to present statistical information in graph form, it is important to choose the appropriate type of graph for the information you are presenting.

How to work with graphs and statistics Graphs present information in a different way to written analyses and tables of figures. GRAPHS are easy to understand at a glance are more visually interesting can illustrate trends and patterns clearly and concisely can be presented in colour to highlight important differences or similarities.

Tables and appropriate types of graph The most admired companies in 1999 Here a bar chart is suggested RANKLAST YEARCOMPANYSCORE / 10 4 Coca Cola Procter&Gamble Rubbermaid Johnson & Johnson Intel Merck Microsoft Mirage Resorts Hewlatt Packard Motorola

Tables and appropriate type of graph Fidelity Investments –ownership of the company. Here a pie chart is suggested Non-family51% Johnson Family Group49.0% Abbot Johnson24.5% Ned Johnson12.0% 3 family members and associates12.5% 50 executives (including fund managers and marketing executives) 51.0%

Tables and appropriate type of graph Investment Bankers in 2000 Here a bar chart is suggested RANKADVISERVALUE of DEALSNUMBER of DEALS 1Morgan Stanley45, J.P.Morgan40, Baring Brothers36, Goldman Sachs29, Lazard Houses29, SBC Wartburg27,30393

Tables and appropriate types of graph Brands - % of total marketing spending Here a line graph is suggested YEARMEDIAPROMOTION % 52% 53% 54% 55.5% 56% 45% 45.5% 47% 46.5% 45% 44.5% 44%

Describing Trends When you are talking about trends using graphs and statistics, it is important to be able to describe different types of change and different degrees of change

Describing Trends UPDOWN RISE INCREASE SHOOT UP ROCKET GROW GO UP SOAR FALL DECREASE PLUMMET DECLINE DROP SLUMP COLLAPSE GO DOWN

Describing Trends Fluctuate Stabilise These two verbs do not belong to the verbs indicating an up or down trend.

Describing Trends GRADUAL UPRAPID/SUDDEN UP RISE INCREASE GO UP GROW SOAR ROCKET SHOOT UP

Describing Trends GRADUAL DOWNRAPID/SUDDEN DOWN FALL DECREASE DROP GO DOWN DECLINE PLUMMET SLUMP COLLAPSE

Describing Trends Appropriate adverbs GRADUALRAPID/SUDDEN STEADILY SLIGHTLY SLOWLY CONSISTENTLY GRADUALLY STEEPLY SHARPLY DRAMATICALLY RAPIDLY

PRACTICE Imagine you are the Sales Manager of LochGlen plc, a Scottish conpany which produces various brands of whisky. Use the information in the following tables to prepare a short presentation about the company, covering trends in: UK sales Market share at home and abroad Brand profitability

UK sales in £000s LOCHGLEN LOCHKEDDIE MACDINGLE ROYAL SCOT TOTAL SALES

MARKET SHARE (%) EUROPENORTH AMERICAJAPAN

PROFITS ON SALE OF TWO UK BRANDS (£ MILLION STERLING) OLD MALT GLEN CLASSIC

SUGGESTED ANSWER Sales have gone up for most brands between 1999 and 2000 in the UK, with a slight drop for Royal Scot. LochKeddie has steadily increased its market share and the sales of MacDingle have soared. The trend for the first half of the ‘90s is an overall increase in the market share of these products all over the world, particularly in Japan, where the market share has grown sharply. Old Malt brand has doubled its profitability, whereas Glen Classic has slightly decreased over the last five years.