Business Environment Report: Technology, Innovation, CSR Analysis

This report analyzes the business environment, focusing on the impact of technological innovation and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on Aston Martin Lagonda. The introduction provides a background on the business environment and Aston Martin's history, highlighting its luxury car manufacturing. Task 1 explores how technological innovation affects a nation's economic growth, emphasizing increased productivity and investment, and then examines Aston Martin's innovations, including design changes and technological advancements like electric vehicles. Task 2 discusses the importance of CSR, its impact on brand value, sales, employee engagement, and cost-saving. It also includes Carroll's CSR model to identify the importance of social responsibility and the impact it has on companies. The report concludes by summarizing the findings and providing references.

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
A. Impact of technological innovation on economic growth of a Nation...................................3
B. Impact of Innovation and Technology on Aston Martin Lagonda..........................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
A. The importance of corporate social responsibility..................................................................7
B. Carroll’s CSR model:..............................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Report describe technology and innovation support in the growth of organisation as well as
country. Technology and innovation helps in increasing quality, efficiency and productivity of
the Aston Martin Lagonda and hence increase the revenue and profit which supports economic
growth of the country. Carol’s pyramid of CSR provides various method for company inclusion
in social responsibility for example providing funds in poor student’s education and
development.
INTRODUCTION
Business environment refers to all the internal and external factors affects the performance
and overall growth of the company. It also affects the employees, supply and demand, customers
of the company. It also includes the relationship of the companies with the customers in the
market.
Aston Martin is the best manufacturer of the luxurious cars. This company was found in the
year 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bam ford. Aston martin deals with more than 150
dealership. It is public limited company. The brand image of the company is very high.
In this report, it is described about the innovation and implementation of the new ideas in the
organisation. Porter theory of innovation is also defined and the ways innovation can take place
in the product, services and business models. It also described the importance of the corporate
social responsibility and the theory of Carroll’s model is also discussed in the report.
TASK 1
A. Impact of technological innovation on economic growth of a Nation
Innovation refers to change or development in the process or product in the organisation. It
helps in the growth of quality, efficiency and productivity of the product as well as growth of the
organisation. Company gains competitive advantage as well as increase the profit by attracting
large number of customer through innovation. Technology defines as a scientific knowledge and
its application transformation for practical purposes. It helps in creating things simple at
workplace as well as increase efficiency, quality and productivity of workforce and work.
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Innovation plays significant role in the economic growth of the country. Innovation increase the
opportunity to companies expand and explore and helps in increasing revenue and profit which
ultimately adds in economic growth of the organisation. One of the advantage of innovation is
higher productivity means for the same input generates greater output and increasing
productivity increase in the number of goods and services which increase the profit and
contribute in economic growth of the country. For example innovation of electric and automated
vehicle in automobile industry attracts large number of customer which ultimately increases the
revenue of organisation and at the end contributes in economic growth of country. With the
advancement in technology quality, efficiency and productivity of product increase and on the
other hand it helps in reducing time and other complexity. Advance technology produce greater
output with higher quality and reduce price hence increase the consumption of customer.
Increasing demand of customer rise the profit of company ultimately hikes the revenue of
government and hence support in the economic development of the country. Technological
advance country attracts large number of investors and companies around the world and
generates higher revenue through it. For example UK is one of the biggest technology countries
and attract organisation like Facebook, Google etc. for the investment and opportunities and
hence increase foreign direct Investment. Technological advance countries companies sell
variety of products and services around the world which increase export market and hence
increase incoming fund support economic growth of the country. There are number of
technologies use by organisation for the growth. Introduction of new technological machines in
the organisation increase the efficiency of work as well as workplace (Wu, Ma and Zhuo, 2017).
For competitive advantage company maximize technology to attract large number of customer
for example introducing 5G in the market of 4G increase the growth of 5G Technology
Company (Broughel and Thierer, 2019). Company adopt different technology in work to reduce
human effort and increase quality of work. Digital technologies for example opening of online
stores helps in reaching more customer on the other hand it reduce time of organisation for
attaining large number of customers.
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B. Impact of Innovation and Technology on Aston Martin Lagonda
All the companies whether big or small tries to bring innovation and use advanced
technology to reach to maximum number of people thereby increasing sales and the overall profit
(Gardner and Bryson, 2020). Aston Martin Lagonda is the only luxury car group in the world
which is independent having 100 years of experience in designing and automotive excellence.
Earlier, Aston Martin and Lagonda were two different well-known brands dealing in cars but
later on partnered with each other to gain excellence.
Innovation and Technology
Aston Martin and Lagonda proved to be one of the most successful brands in the
automotive industry by innovating itself regularly according to the needs of the customers and
the prevailing trends (Martinez-Covarrubias, Lenihan and Hart, 2017). Aston Martin started with
the first car named ‘Atom’ and brought all the changes in that car. The innovations the company
brought till now are as follows:
 The company after getting inspired from outside the world of automation, planned to merge
the thrills of the sports car with the saloon’s refinement. For this, the company made a
four-door salon which was modern and full of innovations produced in a very strong design.
The implementation of this plan was successful and got a rapid growth.
 It also planned to construct a car whose design was based on the aircraft and the materials
chosen were lightweight with aerodynamic chassis of aluminium. This plan was also
successful and provided them with great success.
 It even thought of innovation in every part of the design of the car. It produced new trailing
suspension for the use in front without the arm which was based on the design of Gordon
Armstrong along with the rear axle of Salisbury which was first introduced in UK.
 The company also used advanced technology in its gearbox (Aghion and et.al., 2016). It
made the Cotal gearbox which was semi-automatic. The components of aircrafts were used in
it and made all the vehicles electric.
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 Atom has undergone many digital transformation projects also for compensating the losses
faced after the war. After all this, the legacy created by it over last 3 years helped the Atom
to be named as Aston Martin which is the most demanded brand all over the world.
 Aston Martin also surprised the people by its design. The designers were making the full use
of technology to meet some particular standards and to differentiate it from others.
Impact of the Innovation
The company which is now known as Aston Martin Lagonda had made many innovations
and used various advanced technologies in its first car ‘Atom’ which gave it a great success in
terms of sales and profit. The credit of its success completely goes to the advanced technologies
to make attractive new products which gives regular surprises to the customers.
The urban population was rising rapidly resulting in more advanced demands. The company
adapted all the changing demands of the people and continue innovating the parts of products
and services which impacted it in many ways (Juhász and Steinwender, 2018). The company was
totally depended on the number of customers willing to accept the innovation. If the sales of the
Aston Martin Products were insufficient, then the company could not continue with the
innovation and producing new products resulting in diminishing of the brand and advanced
technology.
But the customers showed good interest in all the changes and creativity made by the company
including the powertrains of low emission, autonomous and connectivity driving, enhanced
beauty and luxury of cars etc. the company implemented many strategies for inventing those
innovations cost-effectively which helped it to meet all the technological standards demanded by
the emerging market and customers.
The table above shows the data before and after bringing various innovations in Aston Martin.
Before innovation After innovation
Revenue Growth 16.3 47.6
Gross Margin 37.3 40.6
Adjusted EBITDA*(£m) 100.9 206.5
Operating Profit(£m) 32.3 148.8
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Number of Dealerships 167 161
Source: Report and Financial Consolidated Statements,2017
The company also had a gain of £24.3m after bring the innovations in various sectors (Becker,
2019).
So, it was concluded that the company has innovated itself in infinite ways and is continuing to
bring various changes using the advanced technologies. It increased the overall sales and the
profit margin. the various innovations helped the company to reach maximum number of people
and also enhanced its goodwill in the market. The company Aston Martin Lagonda also provides
services by keeping in mind the adverse effects of emission of harmful gases in the environment.
Therefore, Aston Martin is succeeding rapidly by upgrading itself regularly.
TASK 2
A. The importance of corporate social responsibility
The term corporate social responsibility refers to the chance given to the employees of the
organisation for the contributing towards the society and environment. Everybody is living for
their own needs and demands, but living for others gives an immense pleasure. The importance
of the corporate social responsibility is as follows:
Brand value: The main importance of the corporate social responsibility is that it increases the
brand value of the organisation (Masoud, 2017). A well managed program can increase the brand
equity and strong values. People not appreciate the companies who are earning maximum profits,
but also encourage the companies who are dedicated towards the social services. CSR helps in
increasing the goodwill of the company.
Increased sales: basically the customers prefer the companies who are more responsible. Many
people prefer the companies of their community. This engagement refers to the increase its sales
and also maximises the profit of the company. This also highlights the importance of the
corporate social responsibility.
Employee retention and engagement: Employees enjoys working with the company having the
positive public image. CSR organises various programs for the society for increasing the values
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of empathy and loyalty. This results in the teamwork of the employees in the company. It is also
said that the more happy employees are, the less attrition takes place. The Aston Martin helps the
NGOs in the sustainable model. They also run various programs and organise various events for
the awareness of the environment. This also results in the satisfaction of the employees and
increases the image of the company.
Cost saving: earlier, operating the sustainability is the huge cost for the company. Aston Martin
have introduced new technologies for that reduced the cost of the operating (Carroll, 2016). The
company has introduced the new technology of operating the companies through solar power.
Poverty alleviation: the CSR helps the company in executing the projects. They have the skills to
ensure the maximum result in the minimum cost. CSR programs helps Aston Martin in giving
the opportunity for educating the poor children specially girl child. And also empower them and
helps the poor families in coming out from poverty. This helps Aston Martin in maintain the
image and reputation of the company.
Risk management: The factors such as social and environmental affects the Aston Martin in the
large way. It also affects the growth strategy of the company. Environmental factors like floods
result in the heavy loss to the company. The risk of environmental damage cannot be predicted
before; the company has to make the appropriate preparation for these before.
Therefore, the Corporate social responsibilities are important for the Aston martin, as it
helps in maintain the image and reputation of the company and helps in the growth of the
company by making goodwill.
B. Carroll’s CSR model:
Carroll’s model is the simple model basically helps in the identifying the reason of the
importance of the social responsibility in Aston Martin. The main focus of the CSR is to found
the areas of profit, as profit is the main priority of the Aston Martin. After profit making, the
rules, regulations and laws are the main part for the company. The company should also fulfils
its ethical responsibility.
Basically Carroll’s model refers to the four responsibilities that are important to be
fulfilled in the Aston martin. The Responsibilities are as follows:
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Economic: In this responsibility of the company, the main focus is in the economic growth of
the company. Because growth is important for surviving the company in the market. The
Economic responsibility refers to the profit making of the company. The profit is important for
the new positive innovation and changes in the Aston Martin. It is the only way to survive and
also benefited the society in the long term.
Legal: in this responsibility the main focus of the company is to follow the rules, regulations and
law of the company and government. The laws are related to the employees and their health and
safety. The employees plays a key role in the success of the Aston Martin, therefore it is
important to ensure their safety (Ali, 2017). The company using the machineries for
manufacturing goods should be monitored regularly. The company should provide proper
equipments for the safety of the employees. Also company should takes strict action if the
employees are not using their safety equipments. Also, Aston Marin can organise different
medical health check up camps for ensuring the health of the employees. it also helps in
motivating the employees and makes them feel special.
Ethical: in this responsibility the Aston Martin should act morally and ethically. It is to
responsibility of the company to treat the suppliers and employees in the best way. Making
strong relationship with the suppliers helps in the growth and profit making of the company. If
the relationship with the suppliers is strong, then it may give many advantages to the company.
Employees will work efficiently and effectively only when they get proper respect and value.
Aston Martin can organises different motivational programs for the employees.
Philanthropic: in this responsibility the emphasis is laid on the welfare of the society. It involves
many charitable donations to the society for the improvement in the society. the donation can be
for the children, specially girl child, widows, handicap people etc (Kim, 2019). These are the
people who feel disappointed with their life, so these donations help them in motivating and
fulfil their needs and requirements. It also gives the benefit to the Aston Martin as increase the
image of the company in the market and people consider it as a responsible company for them.
Therefore, this model of Carroll is very easy to understand. The main focus of the
company is to earn profit as well as helps the society in improvement.
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CONCLUSION
It can be concludes that innovation in the Aston martin is very important. The emphasis was
laid on the implementation of the new ideas. It also discussed about the Michael porter theory of
the innovation in terms of improvement, innovation can also takes place in the products and
services of the Aston Martin. It has been also conluded that the corporate social responsibility is
important for the organisation and the Archie Carroll’s model has also been discussed in this
report.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aghion, P. and et.al., 2016. Carbon taxes, path dependency, and directed technical change:
Evidence from the auto industry. Journal of Political Economy.124(1). pp.1-51.
Ali, W., Frynas, J.G. and Mahmood, Z., 2017. Determinants of corporate social responsibility
(CSR) disclosure in developed and developing countries: A literature review. Corporate
Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. 24(4). pp.273-294.
Becker, B., 2019. The Impact of Innovation Policy on Firm Innovation and Performance: A
Review of Recent Research Developments. ifo DICE Report. 17(04). pp.10-15.
Broughel, J. and Thierer, A.D., 2019. Technological innovation and economic growth: A brief
report on the evidence. Mercatus Research Paper.
Carroll, A.B., 2016. Carroll’s pyramid of CSR: taking another look. International journal of
corporate social responsibility. 1(1). pp.1-8.
Gardner, E.C. and Bryson, J.R., 2020. The dark side of the industrialisation of accountancy:
innovation, commoditization, colonization and competitiveness. Industry and Innovation,
pp.1-16.
Juhász, R. and Steinwender, C., 2018. Spinning the web: The impact of ICT on trade in
intermediates and technology diffusion (No. w24590). National Bureau of Economic
Research.
Kim, S., 2019. The process model of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication: CSR
communication and its relationship with consumers’ CSR knowledge, trust, and corporate
reputation perception. Journal of Business Ethics. 154(4). pp.1143-1159.
Martinez-Covarrubias, J.L., Lenihan, H. and Hart, M., 2017. Public support for business
innovation in Mexico: a cross-sectional analysis. Regional studies. 51(12). pp.1786-1800.
Masoud, N., 2017. How to win the battle of ideas in corporate social responsibility: the
International Pyramid Model of CSR. International Journal of Corporate Social
Responsibility. 2(1). pp.1-22.
Wu, J., Ma, Z. and Zhuo, S., 2017. Enhancing national innovative capacity: The impact of high-
tech international trade and inward foreign direct investment. International Business
Review.26.(3).pp.502-514.
Online
Report and Financial Consolidated Statements, 2017. Available through :<
https://amlcorp.blob.core.windows.net/default-storage/docs/default-source/documents/
bondholders/financial-releases-and-presentations/2017/aston-martin-holdings-(uk)-
limited-2017-annual-report-amp-financial-statements.pdf?sfvrsn=34266343_4>
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