It's the well-worn analogy of a scalpel and hatchet.

In a down economy, sometimes businesses have to make tough decisions — but they need to be smart decisions.

Businesses have to be ready for when the economy turns around, experts and business leaders say.

Cut too deeply in the wrong places and too much time will be devoted to replacing what shouldn't have been cut in the first place.

"Unfortunately, with the economy continuing to struggle, it seems as if more and more companies are being forced to take a look at their resources," said Manny Avramidis, senior vice president of global human resources for the American Management Association.

Companies are more likely to trim expenses in areas of declining demand, such as trimming a few call center positions if there are fewer calls, while maintaining those things that support the entire company, such as a diversity program.

Many companies have had several good years and have cash in reserve to cushion against the downturn, Avramidis said.

"If they protect critical investments to the best of their ability, those same investments will help as they come through the downturn," he said.

"Unfortunately, not all companies have the resources or the choice."

At Blois Construction in Oxnard, increased demand for the company's heavy underground construction work during the past few years created a "healthy backlog" of work that helps now, said Steve Woodworth, chief operating officer.

Woodworth said the company's material costs have increased, as have its fuel-related bills, which makes it important to work those figures into bids for jobs.

The company is constantly looking at how it can manage more productively.

Blois Construction involves its employees in those discussions, staying consistent in its employee involvement in good times and bad, he said.

"If you are having these conversations when the economy is stronger and continue those kinds of conversations when the economy is softer, you're going to have a credibility with your employees — you're not adjusting based on the outside world," Woodworth said.

Companies are more open than ever to maintaining a dialogue with employees about guiding a business forward, said Jo-Anne Smith, president-elect of the National Human Resources Association Ventura County affiliate. She also is an organizational change consultant with DBM, which works with downsizing companies.

Smith said companies are thinking: "How can we get employees to buy into what we need to be successful?

"The reality is they need all their employees to perform optimally and do, unfortunately, a little bit more with a little bit less."

Many companies are making the decision to cut in ways that don't cut people, she said.

That's not everybody, of course. Ventura County residents have been affected by job cuts at Countrywide Financial Corp., Amgen Inc., Technicolor and other companies during the past year.

Many firms that resort to layoffs are "doing them with a lot more grace than they ever have before," Smith said, noting that they are providing fair severance packages and offering services to help employees find new jobs.

One motivation for that approach is that companies that don't do it well end up in headlines, Avramidis said. If job cuts are a surprise, it can cause the company to lose the trust and loyalty of its employees and tarnish its public image.

What to protect

Building certain things into the corporate culture can protect what is important to a company during a downturn, said Mark Borowski, a partner and the assurance leader for Ernst & Young's Pacific Southwest region.

Borowski lives in Westlake Village and works in Los Angeles.

Take diversity: At Ernst & Young, opportunities, such as prime audit assignments or programs to help workers advance to partner status, are offered to everyone, he said.

"Inclusiveness is such an important part of what we've built into our culture," Borowski said. "It's not a flavor of the month' program that might go away when there's an economic downturn."

He said employees are happier and more successful when they are given meaningful opportunities. It also helps lure qualified applicants.

Hoping for the best

Making adjustments is more difficult in some fields.

There are limits to how Oxnard's Boskovich Farms can adapt, said George Boskovich, chief executive.

The company is struggling with higher fuel prices and price increases for fertilizers, chemicals, seed, irrigation and farm equipment. But the price of produce is set in the commodities market — not directly tied to production.

"We have no choice but to absorb this cost and hope to get it back when things get better," Boskovich wrote in an e-mail.

He said there are often times or entire seasons when the farm has to sell its products below the cost of production, but there are few ways to cut corners with things like water, seed, fertilizers, harvesting labor or safety.

Adjustments include making sure all trailer space is used when distributing products and consolidating deliveries with other suppliers, working with utility companies to make sure the business is using energy most efficiently and taking full advantage of rates and getting cost deals on cartons and packaging through volume discounts. Boskovich said employees offer ideas and suggestions that are used to develop goals.

"This is a serious situation we face, but we are used to dealing with challenges in this business," he added. "I suppose we'll get through it or we'll die trying."