Final answer:
A comprehensive outline of a job's roles and requirements is known as the job description (a), which is different from job specification, job portfolio, job analysis, and job appraisal. These descriptions are crucial for I-O psychologists when analyzing a job and ensuring suitable employee selection to maintain job satisfaction.
Step-by-step explanation:
An overview of a job's title, tasks, relationships with other jobs, the physical and mental skills required, duties, responsibilities, and working conditions is referred to as the job description. This definition includes both task-oriented and worker-oriented approaches to job analysis, which is the process of describing the job in detail. Task-oriented analysis lists out the actions to be performed, while the worker-oriented approach, also known as job specification, describes the worker's required characteristics, or knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs).
Industrial-Organizational (I-O) psychologists often undertake the job analysis process, employing methods like observation, surveys, and interviews, to determine the KSAs necessary for a job. Tools such as the O*Net database maintained by the United States Department of Labor can also provide valued insights. Furthermore, the reliability of job analyses may vary depending on the source, with self-reported descriptions tending to be less reliable.
Ultimately, job analyses aid in the selection of employees, informing the creation of job descriptions and job specifications that match individuals to the tasks and requirements of the job, which are key to ensuring job satisfaction and performance.