James Keith Louden (March 4, 1905 — August 12, 1994) was an American

industrial engineer Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information and ...

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations ...

, and management author. He served as the 4th president of the Society for Advancement of Management in the year 1941-1942, and was the recipient of the 1949 Gilbreth Medal.

Biography

Youth, education and early career

Louden was born in

Duquesne, Pennsylvania Duquesne ( ) is a city along the Monongahela River in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 5,254 at the 2020 census. History The city of Duquesne was settled in 1789 and incorp ...

in 1905, son of George T. Louden and Minnie M. (Zimmerman) Louden. He obtained his BSc in Business Administration from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in 1928.

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

. "James Keith Louden: AMA Vice-President." in: ''Mechanical Engineering: The Journal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,'' Volume 85. 1963. p. 61. After his graduation in 1928 Louden started as industrial engineer with the

Fostoria Glass Company The Fostoria Glass Company was a manufacturer of pressed, blown and hand-molded glassware and tableware. It began operations in Fostoria, Ohio, on December 15, 1887, on land donated by the townspeople. The new company was formed by men from West ...

until 1933. He was industrial engineer at the Buckeye Steel Castings Company from 1928 to 1933, and supervisor in the quality control department of Owens-Illinois Glass Company from 1936 to 1939.

Later career and honours

In 1939 Louden had joined the National Supply Company in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, where he was appointed Director of Industrial Engineering. From 1942 to 1947 he was production manager at the

Armstrong Cork Company The Armstrong Cork Company (formerly of Armstrong World Industries) was a cork manufacturer located at 2349 Railroad Street in the Strip District neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company's building was built circa 1901, and designed ...

, and from 1947 to 1955 he served in several management positions at the York Corporation, which became in his days a division of the BorgWarner corporation. Next, from 1957 to 1961 he served in multiple executive functions at the Lebanon Steel Foundry in

Lebanon, Pennsylvania Lebanon () is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,814 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in the central part of the Lebanon Valley, east of Harrisburg and west of Reading. ...

. From 1971 to 1994 he was president of Corporate Director, Inc. In the year 1941-1942 Louden served as president of the Society for Advancement of Management as successor of

Myron Henry Clark Myron Henry Clark (July 25, 1881 – August 30, 1953) was an American chemical engineer, management consultant, and director of the Labor-Management Institute at the University of Connecticut, known as long active proponent in labor-management affa ...

, and was succeeded by Percy S. Brown. In the years 1968-1970 he served as president of the

American Management Association The American Management Association (AMA) is an American non-profit educational membership organization for the promotion of management, based in New York City. Besides its headquarters there, it has local head offices throughout the world. It ...

as successor of Alexander Trowbridge, and was succeeded by James L. Hayes. In 1949 he was awarded the annual Gilbreth Medal by the Society for the Advancement of Management. In 1956 he received the

Worcester Reed Warner Medal Worcester Reed Warner (May 16, 1846 – June 25, 1929) was an American mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, manager, astronomer, and philanthropist. With Ambrose Swasey he cofounded the Warner & Swasey Company. Biography Life and career Warne ...

of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.''The Gazette and Daily from York,'' Pennsylvania. December 7, 1956. p. 15

Selected publications

* Louden, J. Keith, and J. Wayne Deegan. ''Wage incentives.'' Wiley, 1959. *

Joseph M. Juran Joseph Moses Juran (December 24, 1904 – February 28, 2008) was a Romanian-born American engineer and management consultant. He was an evangelist for quality and quality management, having written several books on those subjects. He was the brot ...

and J. Keith Louden, ''The corporate director.'' 1966. * Louden, J. Keith, and Jack Zusman. ''Effective director in action.'' Amacom, 1975. * Louden, J. Keith. ''Managing at the top : roles and responsibilities of the chief executive.'' Amacom, 1977. * Louden, J. Keith. ''The director: professional's guide to effective board work.'' Amacom, 1982.

References

External links

Keith Louden knew it all - Shareholder Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louden, James Keith 1905 births 1994 deaths American industrial engineers American business theorists Ohio State University Fisher College of Business alumni People from Duquesne, Pennsylvania Engineers from Pennsylvania 20th-century American engineers Presidents of the American Management Association