What is the goal of normalization in database design?

The primary goal of normalization in database design is to organize data efficiently to minimize redundancy and ensure data integrity. By decomposing large tables into smaller, related ones, normalization directly addresses the problem of data anomalies—specifically insertion, deletion, and update errors that occur when redundant data is stored in a single table. For instance, without normalization, updating a customer's address might require changes across multiple rows, increasing the risk of inconsistency. While reducing redundancy (Option A) is a mechanism used during normalization, it serves the ultimate purpose of preventing anomalies. Option C is incorrect because normalization often increases query complexity and can actually slow down performance, requiring denormalization later for optimization. Therefore, the most accurate objective is reducing data anomalies to maintain a reliable database structure.