Refer to section The WH Framework for Business

· Updated on December 11, 2025

Refer to section “The WH Framework for Business Ethics” of Ch. 2, Business Ethics of Dynamic Business Law for information on the WH Framework.  

 For this assignment, refer to the scenario located in the “Questions & Problems” section of Ch. 2, “Business Ethics” in Dynamic Business Law. This scenario involves Steven J. Trzaska, the head of L’Oréal USA's regional patent team, and ethical rules and core values of the company.  
Read the scenario in the textbook and complete the following activity.  
Create a WH Framework chart, similar to Exhibit 2.2. Refer to L’Oréal’s core values and the primary values in Exhibit 2.3 to determine the guidelines to include in the WH Framework.  
Write an explanation of how you decided on the list of stakeholders and guidelines to include in your WH Framework. Address the following questions in your explanation:  
 Which stakeholders did Trzaska and the management of L’Oréal cater to? Why?  
What values did L’Oréal’s management choose when they made the decision to fire Trzaska? Why? 

 Address the following self-reflection questions in addition to your explanation: 

• How did the WH Framework help you analyze the situation? 

• Now that you’ve put together the framework, how does the WH Framework help managers with making business decisions? 

• What type of decisions would the WH Framework chart help you make as a manager?
Competency Assessment Rubric
1. WF Framework Chart (weight 10%) Created a WH Framework chart that included a comprehensive, creative, and innovative list of stakeholders and guidelines.  
2. Relevant Stakeholders (weight 20%) Thoroughly explained the stakeholders that Trzaska and L’Oréal’s management catered to and why from a creative and innovative perspective.  
3. Values (weight 20%) Thoroughly explained the values L’Oréal’s management chose when they made the decision to fire Trzaska and why from a creative and innovative perspective.  
4. Analysis: WH Framework (weight 15%) Thoroughly discussed how the WH Framework helped to analyze the situation from a creative and innovative perspective.  
5. Business Decisions: WH Framework (weight 15%) Thoroughly discussed how the WH Framework helped with making business decisions from a creative and innovative perspective.  
6. Manager DecisionMaking: WH Framework (weight 20%) Thoroughly discussed the types of decisions the WH Framework would help a manager make from a creative and innovative perspective.  
Plagiarism and zero gpt free

Ethical Analysis Using the WH Framework at L’Oréal**

WH Framework Analysis of the L’Oréal Trzaska Scenario

The WH Framework for Business Ethics, presented in Dynamic Business Law, guides ethical decision-making by requiring managers to examine W—who is affected—and H—how decisions align with ethical values (Kubasek et al., 2020). In the case involving Steven J. Trzaska and L’Oréal USA, the WH Framework helps assess which stakeholders were considered, whose rights were compromised, and which corporate values were elevated or ignored when management terminated Trzaska for refusing to submit patent applications he believed lacked legal merit. This assignment presents a WH Framework chart and provides a detailed ethical analysis of the situation.

WHO (Stakeholders) Primary Concerns / Rights HOW (Guidelines & Values) Ethical Principles Impacted
Steven Trzaska (Employee) Professional integrity, legal compliance, job security L’Oréal core values: Integrity, Transparency Duty to obey the law, honesty, workplace fairness
L’Oréal Management Patent targets, corporate performance, brand reputation Achievement, Accountability Profit maximization, performance metrics
Customers Truthful innovation claims, trustworthy products Transparency, Responsibility Consumer trust and safety
Shareholders Financial returns, long-term brand value Performance, Risk management Fiduciary duty, sustainable value
Society / Legal System Ethical patent filings, fair competition Integrity, Compliance Rule of law, avoidance of fraudulent filings
Other Employees Ethical work environment, clarity of expectations Respect, Responsibility Fair workplace culture, protection against retaliation

The stakeholders included in the WH Framework were selected based on the parties directly impacted by the patent-filing policy and the termination of Trzaska. L’Oréal’s corporate values—Integrity, Transparency, Responsibility, and the pursuit of sustainable innovation—provided the guidelines used in the chart. These values align with the core principles from Exhibit 2.3 in Dynamic Business Law, including freedom, security, efficiency, and justice (Kubasek et al., 2020). Each guideline was chosen because Trzaska’s claim rested on the conflict between legal integrity and pressure to meet patent quotas.

L’Oréal’s decision primarily catered to management interests and shareholder expectations, not employee or societal stakeholders. Management prioritized achieving numerical patent targets that enhanced the company’s competitive posture and innovation metrics. These targets were aligned with performance ranking, investor perception, and financial valuation of L’Oréal’s intellectual property portfolio (Dreyfuss & Bell, 2019).

By focusing on what appeared to be quantitative innovation outcomes rather than legal compliance, management placed greater weight on shareholders, whose interests center on profitability, perceived innovation, and return on investment.

Trzaska, who sought to comply with U.S. patent law and upheld professional integrity, was not the stakeholder prioritized. His refusal to file meritless patents was consistent with legal obligations, but because it threatened internal performance metrics, his concerns were disregarded. Management also overlooked societal and legal system stakeholders, who expect corporations to support truthfulness and fairness in patent filings.

The decision to fire Trzaska suggests that L’Oréal prioritized values such as achievement, performance, and competitive advantage over integrity and transparency. Performance metrics—particularly patent quotas—were treated as essential indicators of corporate success.

By dismissing Trzaska’s ethical warnings, management implicitly elevated:

  • Profit and performance pressures over

  • Rule compliance, honesty, and professional ethics

This misalignment indicates a conflict between the stated corporate values of “Integrity” and “Transparency” and the actual values practiced in decision-making. Ethical culture literature confirms that when organizations stress performance metrics without balancing integrity, employees face pressure to compromise ethics (Treviño & Nelson, 2021).

Thus, the termination decision represented a deviation from L’Oréal’s professed values and an adoption of instrumental values focused on short-term output rather than responsible innovation.

The WH Framework clarifies ethical dilemmas by forcing a structured examination of both who is affected and how decisions align with moral principles. In this case, the framework illuminated several insights:

  1. Multiple stakeholders faced harm, not only Trzaska but also customers, shareholders (through potential long-term harm), and the legal system.

  2. The company’s actions violated more than employment fairness; they undermined societal expectations of legal compliance in patent practice.

  3. The mismatch between L’Oréal’s official values and management’s behavior became clear through mapping guidelines against actions.

This systematic approach prevents narrow analysis and highlights consequences that may be overlooked in less structured evaluations.

Managers benefit from the WH Framework because it prevents decisions based solely on financial or short-term considerations. The framework promotes a multi-stakeholder perspective by:

  • Encouraging managers to anticipate legal, ethical, and social consequences.

  • Providing a structured method for balancing competing interests.

  • Reinforcing corporate values by requiring explicit linkage between actions and principles.

The WH Framework ensures decisions are ethically defensible and sustainable. Research demonstrates that ethical frameworks reduce misconduct, improve organizational trust, and foster long-term corporate stability (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2022).

Managers can use the WH Framework to support decisions involving:

  • Employee discipline or termination, ensuring fairness and transparency

  • Product development and claims, aligning marketing with truthfulness

  • Regulatory compliance, especially in industries with significant public impact

  • Performance measurement, ensuring metrics do not incentivize unethical behavior

  • Corporate social responsibility policies, balancing profit with societal impact

In situations like Trzaska’s, the WH Framework would prompt managers to reconsider quota-based evaluations, assess legal risks, and adopt guidelines that reflect genuine compliance and integrity. A manager could conclude that adjusting patent expectations—not terminating an ethical employee—was the more defensible and sustainable decision.

The WH Framework provides a rigorous structure for analyzing ethical dilemmas such as the Trzaska case at L’Oréal. By identifying stakeholders, aligning decisions with authentic corporate values, and evaluating long-term consequences, the framework reveals that L’Oréal’s management prioritized performance metrics over ethical obligations. Through this analysis, it becomes clear that ethical frameworks are indispensable tools for managerial decision-making, promoting transparency, fairness, and sustainable corporate conduct.

Dreyfuss, R. C., & Bell, J. (2019). Ethical challenges in corporate patent strategies. Journal of Business Ethics, 158(4), 1021–1034.

Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2022). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases (13th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Harrison, J. S., & Wicks, A. C. (2021). Stakeholder theory, value, and firm performance. Business Ethics Quarterly, 31(2), 251–280.

Kubasek, N., Browne, M., Giampetro-Meyer, A., & Barkacs, L. (2020). Dynamic business law (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Mayer, D. M. (2022). The role of ethical culture in organizations. Academy of Management Perspectives, 36(1), 89–104.

Schwartz, M. S. (2017). Ethical decision-making theory: An integrated approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 139(4), 755–776.

Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. (2021). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right (8th ed.). Wiley.

Weiss, J. W. (2020). Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach (7th ed.). Berrett-Koehler.

Werhane, P. H., & Freeman, R. E. (2020). Business ethics and the origins of contemporary stakeholder theory. Business Ethics Quarterly, 30(3), 293–300.

Windsor, D. (2019). Corporate social responsibility and ethics. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 74, 5–28.

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