Technology supports decision making by:

• A. Generating annual budgets automatically
• B. Permitting managers to test variables
• C. Replacing human judgment with automation
• D. Ignoring uncertain data

Answer: (B)

Technology supports decision making by providing tools that let managers model and analyze how changes in different variables change outcomes. Through what-if analysis, simulations, and scenario testing, you can adjust inputs like costs, demand, or resource availability and see the potential results before acting. This helps you compare options, anticipate risks, and understand which factors have the biggest impact on objectives, rather than relying on guesswork. Generating annual budgets automatically is a helpful automation task, but it doesn’t by itself enhance decision making by exploring alternatives. Replacing human judgment with automation isn’t accurate here—technology augments judgment, but interpretation, context, and strategic goals still require a human eye. Ignoring uncertain data would weaken decisions; robust decision support accounts for uncertainty and uses models to illuminate how risk factors influence outcomes. So, the key value of technology is enabling managers to test variables and see how different assumptions play out.