Which is the object?

[wuzhi]

A pareto chart is used to graphically summarize and display the relative importance of the differences between groups of data.
http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c010527a.asp

Which is the object of ‘display’, the relative importance or the differences?

[Tdol]

I'd say the object is the whole phrase 'the relative importance of the differences between groups of data'. If you ask the question 'display what', yull get the object and I wouldn't break it down further.

[wuzhi]

Thanks for the time, but it really doesn’t help. I asked this question because there is an understanding problem. From the structure, it seems like what the chart displays is ‘importance. This is different to the pareto chart that I understand. A friend suggested that the ‘differences’ could be the object. This makes the meaning more like what I understand. But the structure is uncommon, so I doubt its correctness.

What I really intended to learn is that: could the ‘differences’ be qualified by ‘the relative importance of’ and be the object of ‘display’?

Or someone could rephrase the sentence to eliminate the misunderstanding.

[Casiopea]

Which is the object of "display", the relative importance or the differences?

The object is underlined:

"A pareto chart is used to graphically summarize and display the relative importance of the differences between groups of data."

"the relative importance" tells us how or in what degree "differences" are being graphically summarized and displayed. It serves as modification. It's part of the object. Omit that bit and the sentence's meaning changes.

". . . display the differences between groups of data."

Max: How are the differences displayed?
Sam: On the basis of relative importance.
Max: You could have said that.

[wuzhi]

Thank you very much. Now I understand.