Controlling Costs goes beyond cutting expenses. Good companies emphasize continuous reviews of processes and procedures to do things differently, better and more efficiently. One example of this is preventative maintenance -- regular maintenance prevents expensive one-time overhauls and lost production due to downtime. Common cost controls are headcount and overhead reductions, but this may not be the best approach from a morale perspective and long-term, good management perspective. Q: What do you think of companies that says their employees are their most important assets and yet layoffs is one of the first methods used to reduce costs?