| Course | BUSI 313 Foundations of Project Management (BUSI313) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 5 |
| Assignment | Integration of Faith 2 |
| Paper type | Integration of faith paper |
| Length | about 519 words, 2 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: at least 500 words with a current APA title page, referencing at least 2 peer-reviewed sources in current APA format |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| Points | 50 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 5 in Liberty's published BUSI 313 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUSI 313 Week 5
Joseph's Granaries: Faith, Foresight and Project Risk Management
[Student Name]
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI 313: Foundations of Project Management
Integration of Faith 2
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The paper reflects the student's reading of Genesis alongside the course; the textbook, research and Scripture cited are real.
Joseph's Granaries: Faith, Foresight and Project Risk Management
Introduction
In Genesis 41, Pharaoh dreams of seven healthy cows devoured by seven gaunt ones, and Joseph interprets the dream as seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, Genesis 41:25-31). Joseph's response is one of the most detailed accounts of planning in Scripture. This paper argues that Joseph practiced what modern project management calls risk management, and that his faith did not replace that planning but motivated it.
Identifying and Assessing the Risk
Larson and Gray (2018) describe risk management as a process that begins with identifying what could go wrong and assessing its likelihood and impact. Joseph's assessment was unusually clear: the famine was certain, it would last seven years, and it would be severe enough that the years of plenty would be forgotten (Genesis 41:30-31). In project terms, he faced a high-probability, high-impact risk with a known start date.
Developing a Response
His proposal had concrete pieces: a wise administrator over Egypt, regional officers, a one-fifth levy on each good harvest and city storehouses under royal control, all intended to carry the nation through the lean years (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, Genesis 41:33-36). The textbook would call this mitigation through a contingency reserve. Joseph did not pray instead of building granaries; he prayed and then built them. Raz et al. (2002) found that risk management practices were used more in projects facing high uncertainty and were associated with better outcomes there, which fits a plan built for a fourteen-year horizon with an uncertain harvest each year.
Reserves and Control
The stored grain functioned like the contingency reserve in Project Section 1, set aside, controlled by an accountable leader and released only when needed. During the famine, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain under controlled conditions (Genesis 41:56), which resembles the textbook's response control step, monitoring and using the response as the risk occurs.
The Limits of Risk Management
Not every risk plan works as neatly. De Bakker et al. (2010) pooled the evidence from software and systems projects and concluded that proof of risk management raising success rates was thin, yet the practice still seemed useful because it got people talking, noticing threats together and agreeing on what to expect. That finding is a useful caution: listing risks in a register does little unless leaders act on them, as Joseph did.
Conclusion
Joseph's story teaches that foresight is a form of faithfulness. It also shows that a good plan serves people beyond the planner: the stored grain fed Egypt and, eventually, Joseph's own family, who had once wronged him (Genesis 45:5-7). Risk management at its best protects everyone who depends on a project, not only its sponsor. A Christian project manager can trust God's sovereignty while still identifying risks, building reserves and controlling responses. Joseph credited God with revealing the future, but he took responsibility for preparing for it, and that combination is a model worth following. In my own project, the contingency reserve in Section 1 felt like an accounting formality when I wrote it; reading Genesis 41 alongside the risk chapter made it feel more like the storehouse, a quiet act of preparation that would matter only on the day it was needed.
References
de Bakker, K., Boonstra, A., & Wortmann, H. (2010). Does risk management contribute to IT project success? A meta-analysis of empirical evidence. International Journal of Project Management, 28(5), 493-503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2009.07.002
English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2018). Project management: The managerial process (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Raz, T., Shenhar, A. J., & Dvir, D. (2002). Risk management, project success, and technological uncertainty. R&D Management, 32(2), 101-109. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9310.00243
What the BUSI 313 Week 5 instructions ask
In its fifth module/week, BUSI 313 covers Larson and Gray's chapters 7 to 9, on managing risk, scheduling resources and costs, and reducing project duration, with one presentation, the Forum 3 thread and the second Integration of Faith assignment. Joseph's story gets the same format the Nehemiah paper used. Reading the risk chapter first helps, because the paper is strongest when it uses the textbook's process to analyze the biblical account step by step. The risk chapter's four steps give the paper a ready-made structure. The paper again needs a title page and two journal sources, plus Scripture, in APA format.
How this BUSI 313 Week 5 example is built
The paper opens with Pharaoh's dreams as the moment a risk was identified and states a thesis about faith and foresight. It then follows the four steps of the textbook's risk management process, identification, assessment, response development and response control, through Joseph's plan. Research appears where it adds perspective: one study on how risk practices relate to project success under uncertainty, and a meta-analysis on whether risk management actually improves outcomes. A section on contingency reserves connects Joseph's stored grain to the reserves in Project Section 1. A conclusion draws lessons for Christian project managers. Verse references follow each step so the reader can check the reading of Genesis.
BUSI 313 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go
Credit for the Joseph reflection depends on how well Genesis 41 and the risk chapter explain each other; formatting, length and the two journal studies are checked too. Instructors reward papers that use the textbook's terms accurately, read Scripture in context and connect the two through specific practices rather than general themes. Using research to support or qualify the connection shows maturity. Papers that summarize the story without analysis, or that make claims about the text it does not support, lose points, as do missing sources or format errors. Using the reserve idea from the project shows the faith paper and the project informing each other. Instructors also notice whether the student read the passage carefully enough to describe its details accurately, such as who was appointed and what was stored.
BUSI 313 Week 5 help: mistakes that cost points
Pick a passage with a clear sequence of decisions, since the risk process is itself a sequence. Map each step of the textbook's process onto the passage, quoting or paraphrasing the relevant verses. Bring in peer-reviewed research to show why the practice matters and where its limits lie. Be careful not to turn a story about God's providence into a management formula; acknowledge what the text emphasizes. End with lessons you can apply to your own project. Add the title page and confirm both sources are peer-reviewed. Connect at least one point to your own project plan. Use the textbook's exact names for the risk steps.
Related BUSI 313 sample papers
Other BUSI 313 weeks
- BUSI 313 Week 1: Forum 1 Thread
- BUSI 313 Week 2: Integration of Faith 1
- BUSI 313 Week 3: Project Section 1
- BUSI 313 Week 4: Forum 2 Replies
- BUSI 313 Week 6: Forum 3 Replies
- BUSI 313 Week 7: Project Section 2
- BUSI 313 Week 8: Forum 4 Replies
More BS in Business Administration sample papers
- BUSI 301 Week 5: Book Review
- BUSI 303 Week 5: Forum 3 Thread
- BUSI 310 Week 2: Forum 1 Thread and Replies
- BUSI 320 Week 2: Discussion Board Forum 1
BUSI 313 Week 5 questions, answered
What is BUSI 313 Integration of Faith 2?
The 50-point paper due in Module/Week 5: at least 500 words integrating faith with project management, with an APA title page and two peer-reviewed sources.
Where can I find a free BUSI 313 Week 5 sample paper?
Read the full BUSI 313 Week 5 faith paper here, which treats Joseph's storehouses in Genesis 41 as a lesson in managing project risk.
What are the steps of project risk management?
Larson and Gray describe identifying risks, assessing their likelihood and impact, developing responses such as mitigating or transferring them, and controlling the responses during the project.
Does risk management improve project success?
Evidence is mixed: one study linked risk practices to success under high uncertainty, while a meta-analysis found limited hard evidence and noted risk management's value in communication and awareness.
What else is due in BUSI 313 Module/Week 5?
The Forum 3 thread on risk or resources is due alongside the paper, and the reading is Larson and Gray's chapters 7 to 9.
Use it as a model, or ask for your own
This paper is an original model written by our desk for study. It is not a submitted student paper and not an official Liberty University document. Read it for structure and reasoning, then write your own to the instructions in your Canvas course. If you want a version built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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