This was the first book to translate research conducted by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction - research that established the sixteen core competencies of instructional system design - into a systematic process for developing those competencies and applying them successfully in real-world settings.

In this second edition, Rothwell and Kazanas expand the scope of their masterwork to accommodate a number of important developments and trends reshaping the current business environment and redefining the role of instructional designers themselves.

Globalization, workforce diversity, emerging technology, outsourcing, and strategic synergistic partnerships are among the many new organizational dynamics considered. Examinations of noninstructional solutions to human performance problems, breakthroughs in learning theory, new expectations regarding designer skill-sets and accountability, and the growing need for performance-setting training readies the reader for tomorrow's professional challenges.

In addition, discussions on the ethical and cross-cultural implications of each instructional design competency now conclude every chapter.