Is decision making hyphenated

Answer 1

While the Associated Press (AP) Style Book-the preferred source for written style for thousands of journalists world-wide (at least those who write for the English language)-state that decision making be hyphenated in all cases (e.g.: decision-making, decision-maker), and while as a former editor and publisher, I would typically defer to the AP style, I prefer the answer provided by a number of other sources (including many, if not most, American universities and government agencies, as well as virtually all on-line resources) which say that the compound should be hyphenated when used as an adjective, and not hyphenated when used as a noun (e.g.: our decision-making process versus the process of our decision making, etc.)

Answer 2

The term "decision-making" is hyphenated when used as an adjective before a noun, as in "decision-making process." However, when the term follows the noun it describes, the hyphen is typically omitted, as in "the process of decision making." The hyphen helps clarify the relationship between the words and ensures proper understanding of the compound adjective.