Object-oriented programming is a way to write computer programs by focusing not on the instructions and operations a program uses to manipulate data, but on the data itself. First, the program simulates, or models, objects in the physical world as closely as possible. Then the objects interact with each other to bring the desired result.
It is not unusual for computer data to represent things in the physical world--a company's employees, money in a bank account, a report. Real-world objects are stored as data so the computer can act upon it to some purposeful end. For example, when you "PRINT a report," PRINT is the action and report is the object acted upon. Often multiple actions apply; you could also SEND the report or ERASE the report.