Advantages and disadvantages of graphical representation in a report

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There is an old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words,” – that is use of pictures and graphs not only enhance the outlook of the report- but also make the report more meaningful and understandable. In the words of Lesikar and Pettit, “graphic aids are any form of illustration.

They supplement words, present minor details, emphasis key points, and improve the reports appearance.”

Advantages/merits of graphical representation in a report:

1. Greater acceptance:
Use of different types of graphs makes the report more meaningful and accordingly acceptance of the report increased.

2. Reduce cost: Sometimes use of pictures helps to limit the discussion which reduces cost of the report.

3. Attractive: Sometimes people lose their interest in reading long reports. But use of bar diagram, pie charts, photographs etc. make the report more attractive, which helps the audience to hold interest.

4. Promote goodwill: An illustrative report not only easily understandable but it also enhance the goodwill of the organization.

5. Helps in decision making: Usually executives have not much time to go through the whole report. For this reason an executive summary is included in the formal reports. In addition to executive summary graphs and charts help the executives to take prompt Decision.

Disadvantages/demerits of graphical representation in a report.

Demerits of graphical representation are as follows:
1. Time consuming: Preparation of graphs and charts increases the completion time of the report.

2. Special knowledge: Graphs helps easy understanding but to prepare graphs an individual need to have special knowledge.

3. Misuse of graphs: Sometimes graphs and charts are used just to m are the report more colorful. But inappropriate use of graphs may create confusion.