Marilynn M. Rosenthal is a professor and medical sociologist. She is director of the Program in Health Policy Studies at the University of Michigan in Dearborn and associate director of the University of Michigan medical school's Program in Society and Medicine, also coordinating the University of Michigan Health Policy Forum. She is the author of Dealing with Medical Malpractice, The Incompetent Doctor, and Medical Mishaps: Pieces of the Puzzle.

Kathleen M. Sutcliffe is associate professor of organizational behavior and human resource management at the University of Michigan Business School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is the coauthor with Karl E. Weick, of Managing the Unexpected (Jossey-Bass, 2001).