squeaky wheel system

plural squeaky wheel systems

1. The strategy in organizations of only responding to filed complaints while ignoring known but unvoiced issues.

   The problem with the squeaky-wheel system is that the production of the squeaking diverts efforts from other activities, potentially of more benefit to the firm.

   1993, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Managing With Power: Politics and Influence in Organizations, Harvard Business Press, →ISBN, page 406

   3 more examples

   According to Schmitz, the "squeaky wheel system" severely limits consumers’ rights because it discriminates against consumers based on their socioeconomic status.

   2013, “Schmitz Explains Squeaky Wheel System at Scott Lecture”, in Colorado Law

   It's easy to operate on the “squeaky wheel” system too, focusing on what causes distress in the moment. It takes conscious effort to live a day of clear intention.

   2011, Margaret J. Shepherd, The Visionbuilders' Manual: 9 Steps To Panoramic Success For Your Company, Career or Cause, Morgan James Publishing, →ISBN, page 174

   As I have argued, pre-dispute arbitration clauses have been particularly powerful in the US to perpetuate differential access to remedies and justice in business-to-consumer dealings, producing a 'squeaky wheel system' in which only the most sophisticated squeaky wheels are sufficiently proactive in pursuing their complaints to get the limited assistance, remedies and other benefits that companies provide.

   2020, Leonardo de Oliveira, Sara Hourani, Access to Justice in Arbitration: Concept, Context and Practice, Kluwer Law International B.V., →ISBN, page 22