Who

• Customers: L’Oreal’s customers are the people who buy its products. They have a right to expect that L’Oreal will only patent products that are truly innovative and unique.
• Employees: L’Oreal’s employees are responsible for developing and filing patent applications. They have a right to work in an environment where they are not pressured to file patents that they do not believe in good faith are patentable.
• Management: L’Oreal’s management is responsible for making decisions that are in the best interests of the company. They have a duty to uphold the company’s core values and to ensure that its employees are treated fairly.
• Public: The public has a right to expect that L’Oreal will comply with the law and that it will not engage in unethical behavior.

How

• Public disclosure: L’Oreal should have disclosed to the public the quota system and the fact that it was pressuring employees to file patents that they did not believe in good faith were patentable.
• Universalization: L’Oreal should have asked itself if it would be okay for other companies to do the same thing.
• Golden rule: L’Oreal should have treated its employees the way it would want to be treated if it were an employee.

Explanation

I decided to include the following stakeholders in the WH Framework chart: customers, employees, management, and the public. These are the key stakeholders who are affected by the decision of whether or not to file patents that are not in good faith patentable.

I decided to include the following guidelines in the WH Framework chart: public disclosure, universalization, and the golden rule. These are three ethical principles that can be used to evaluate the decision of whether or not to file patents that are not in good faith patentable.

The public disclosure guideline is important because it allows the public to hold L’Oreal accountable for its actions. If L’Oreal had disclosed the quota system and the fact that it was pressuring employees to file patents that they did not believe in good faith were patentable, the public would have been able to pressure the company to change its behavior.

The universalization guideline is important because it helps us to think about the consequences of our actions. If we would not want other companies to do the same thing, then we should not do it ourselves. In this case, if L’Oreal would not want other companies to pressure their employees to file patents that are not in good faith patentable, then it should not do so itself.

The golden rule is important because it helps us to put ourselves in the shoes of others. If we would not want to be pressured to file patents that we do not believe in good faith are patentable, then we should not pressure our employees to do so.

Which stakeholders did Traszka and the management of L’Oreal cater to? Why?

Trzaska catered to the customers and employees. He refused to file patents that he did not believe in good faith were patentable because he believed that it would be wrong to deceive the public and to put his employees in a difficult position.

The management of L’Oreal catered to the shareholders. They were more concerned with meeting the patent quota than they were with the ethical implications of pressuring employees to file patents that they did not believe in good faith were patentable.

What values did L’Oreal’s management choose when they made the decision to fire Trzaska? Why?

L’Oreal’s management chose the values of efficiency and profitability over the values of honesty and integrity. They were more concerned with meeting the patent quota than they were with doing the right thing.

Self-reflection

The WH Framework helped me to analyze the situation by forcing me to consider the different stakeholders who were affected by the decision and the ethical principles that should be applied. It also helped me to understand why Trzaska and the management of L’Oreal made the decisions they did.

The WH Framework can help managers with making business decisions by providing a framework for considering the ethical implications of their decisions. It can also help managers to make decisions that are more likely to be in the best interests of all stakeholders.

The WH Framework chart would help me to make decisions as a manager by forcing me to consider the different stakeholders who are affected by the decision and the ethical principles that should be applied. It would also help me to identify the best course of action for the company.

I believe that the WH Framework is a valuable tool for making ethical business decisions. It is a simple but effective way to ensure that all stakeholders are considered and that ethical principles are upheld.