Business Environment Report: Aston Martin's Innovation and CSR

This report analyzes Aston Martin's business environment, focusing on the impact of innovation and technology on its operations, sales, and profits. It discusses the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance in achieving business goals, highlighting the importance of technological advancements in the automotive industry. The report examines how Aston Martin uses modern technology to enhance customer experience and improve efficiency, leading to increased sales and profitability. It also covers the economic advantages of innovation and technology in the UK. Furthermore, the report explains Archie Carroll's Pyramid of CSR and its relevance to Aston Martin, emphasizing the importance of ethical and sustainable business practices. The analysis includes a brief history of corporate governance in the UK and the impact of CSR on an organization's brand image and market position. The report is structured to meet the requirements of a business environment assignment, offering a comprehensive overview of Aston Martin's strategic approach to innovation, CSR, and technology adoption to gain a competitive edge.

Business Environment

Executive Summary
In this research the researcher will try to focus upon various points which will help the
Aston Martin in achieving their business goals as well as give them edge over the other existing
competitors in the market. In this the researcher will asses the impacts of innovation and
technology and how it will positively impact in enhancing the sale, profit and growth of the
Aston Martin. Also it will be discussed that how ensuring the strong corporate governance will
be helpful for the Aston Martin and how showing Corporate social responsibility will lead to
attract more customers by applying the Archie Carroll's CSR model to the company.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Task1................................................................................................................................................4
1. Innovation and technology and their impact on the economic progress............................4
2. Impact of innovation on operations, sales and profits on company...................................6
Task2................................................................................................................................................7
1. Impact of CSR on organisation..........................................................................................7
2. Explanation of Archie Carroll's Pyramid of CSR..............................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

Introduction
In the contemporary world the role of innovation and technology have increased in all the
spheres of life as they help in automating a variety of processes which improves the standard of
living along with economic development of country. Through innovation organisations can meet
the changing needs and wants of customers in an effective manner and gain a competitive
advantage in market along with improving their productivity and lowering costs of production
(Akhtar and Sushil, 2018). Also corporate social responsibility plays an important role in
enhancing the social responsibility of an organisation, increasing their ethical actions etc. so that
company's image can be increased in market. In this report Aston Martin Lagonda Global
Holdings plc is taken which is a British independent manufacturer of luxury cars founded in
1913 and headquartered in England, UK. In this report the importance and impact of innovation
and technology on the operations, sales and profits of company will be discussed along with the
importance of CSR in company with the explanation of Archie Carroll's Pyramid of CSR.
Task1
1. Innovation and technology and their impact on the economic progress
Innovation refers to new or creative ideas which can help in making existing products and
services better so that the changing needs and wants of customers can be efficiently fulfilled
along with creating more value for them. Innovation must be able to produce economic
advantage for company by creating new markets so that customer base can increase along with
its productivity and profitability. Technology is related with practical application of scientific
knowledge so that work can be made easier and automated so that the effective results can be
achieved within limited period of time. Both technology and innovation have played an
important role in the economic development of UK in an efficient manner by making the country
more advanced thereby improving the standard of living of people (Delsing, 2017). Through the
implementation of new and advanced technologies the country has been able to utilise the
resources in an optimum manner so that better products and services can be made available to the
citizens. Also with the increased technological advancements the companies of UK can have
easy and cheap access to the technology so that innovation in the organisations can be increased
along with improving the quality of life of people. Various technologies like artificial
intelligence has helped in improving the data economy of UK, with the help of technology better

facilities are being provided to the ageing population of UK, clean and green technology can help
in the clean growth of the economy of UK by remaining sustainable over a long period of time
etc. Following are the economic advantages which are achieved by UK through innovation and
technology:
 Technological innovation have contributed towards increasing the globalisation of UK so
that it can emerge as a global economy thereby improving its efficiency of using its
resources in an effective and sustainable manner so that the better economic development
of UK can take place.
 Technology can also help UK in adding up-to £140 billion to the GDP by achieving
benchmark productivity levels at all its boroughs which can help in efficient utilisation of
technology so that effective results can be achieved (Economic advantage of technology
in UK .2019).
 Technology businesses have become the heart of UK economy which has helped in
improving various sectors like financial, health, manufacturing and mobility. UK has one
of the world's largest ecosystem which can help in the development of country.
 There are about 30 significant technology clusters across UK, it is the 5th most innovative
place in the world as per the Global Innovation Index, 2019, the digital technology
turnover of UK in 2018 was about £184bn and there is a rise of technological start-ups in
2019 by $13.2bn (Technology in UK .2020).
Technology and innovation also play an important role in the organisations as they help
in automating all the processes of company so that effective results can be achieved within the
stipulated time. Technology can be used in business operations like communication, customer
service, project management, automation, conferencing etc. so that these can be effectively done
efficiently so that the chances of errors can be reduced thereby enhancing the quality of results so
achieved. Also technology can be effectively used so as to enhance innovations so that the
business operations can be made simpler thereby improving the way in which operations of
company take place so that production costs can be reduced and processes can be made more
efficient. This also help in enhancing the productivity of employees so that they can make use of
technology and improve their work so that better customer satisfaction can be achieved.

2. Impact of innovation on operations, sales and profits on company
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc is a British manufacturer of luxurious sports
cars and grand tourers. The company was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford
and headquartered in England, UK. The company earned a revenue of about £997.3 million in
2019 by dealing in the products like auto-mobiles and luxury goods. It has over 150 car
dealerships in over 50 countries which has helped it in becoming a global brand and in 2003 it
received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for outstanding contribution towards international
trade. Aston Martin is also working towards turning itself into a global luxury brand by
branching out into projects like speed boats, bicycles, clothing and real, estate development,
submarines, aircraft etc. so that it can reach to a large number of customers (Escaleras and
Chiang, 2017).
In the auto-mobile industry it is important that technological advancements are used in an
efficient manner so that innovations can be brought in cars making them highly energy efficient
and effective in meeting the customer's changing needs. Aston Martin make use of modern
technology so as to include smartest features in its cars which can help in enhancing the
customer experience along with improving the efficiency of its cars which can help it in
achieving competitive edge in market. It can also help the company in improving efficiency of its
cars so that customers can be provided with luxurious features which can help in increasing the
value of money spent by customers. With the help of technology the company is able to bring
innovation in its existing cars so that they can be improved and better features can be added. This
helped it in introducing new models of cars under the name DB11, new Vantage and DBS
Superleggera (Howell, van Beers and Doorn, 2018). These cars can help the company in
increasing its customer base so that the sales

and profitability of company can be increased.
Based on the above data it can be said that through increased involvement of technology
in the operations and functions of Aston Martin the company has been able to improve efficiency
of its overall functions so that its productivity in market can increase. Also the company
expenses have reduced with the help of technology as it help in making operations more energy
efficiency so that the operations can improve and help in achieving company goals on time and
within stipulated budget. Also innovation has helped Aston Martin in enhancing the trust of its
stakeholders in the company which is important to effectively use technological advancements in
all the operations of company so as to improve the efficiency of company in market.
Task2
1. Impact of CSR on organisation
The Corporate governance is the combination of various rules,Processes and different
laws which lead in the efficient management of the company and also helps in the smooth
operations of the business organisation. By corporate governance it can become easy to divide
the rights & liabilities of various people who are participating in the functions of
organisation(Directors, Stakeholders, Creditors and Shareholders etc.) which leads in avoiding
the conflict of interest. These corporate governances are used for achieving the goals of the

corporation by determining the environment of the market and other social conditions. Corporate
governance also leads to inspect the working of the business organisation in terms of their
actions, implemented policies and various decisions of the organisation, their directors and how
the stakeholders will be affected by this.
In United Kingdom the development of corporate governance has started since a long
back. The present Corporate Governance Code 2018 has been based upon various reports and
earlier codes of corporate governance. The first report was framed namely Cadbury Report.
This report was framed because one of the company named Polly Peck faced insolvency after
misrepresenting their financial records. Further in the year 1995 Greenbury Report came which
lead to the further development of the corporate governance in UK (McAdam, Miller and
McAdam, 2017). The one of the reason of that report was that there was increase in the scandals
in the corporate world and the directors are deciding their remuneration themselves. For instance
when the directors are deciding and getting the remuneration by themselves it was affecting the
stakeholders of the organisation. In the year 1998 Hampel Report came which recommended
that the recommendations of all the three records must collectively form a new corporate
governance code which lead to the birth of Combined Code 1998. After that various reports and
code came into force for the time being and the present Corporate Governance Code has been
implemented in the year 2018.
Corporate Social Responsibility means the accountability of the business organisation
towards its stakeholders and the general public in such a way so that it can protect the
environment and make the positive impact upon the society. For instance if a company is
producing fertilizers, it must make sure that it should give employment to the people who are
residing nearby so that they can get employment. Also the company must work in such a way so
that it does not pollute the environment by its waste materials. A business organisation must
work in a ethical and sustainable way towards the society and the environment. A study was
conducted in the year 2015 in which it was found that 91% of the consumers expects from the
businesses to act in a responsible manner towards the society & environment (Morabito, 2016).
If the Aston Martin shows accountability of the company towards the society it will help
Aston Martin in achieving the success as it will create a positive impact in the eyes of general
public which will lead in the expansion of their business. It will also lead in increase in the profit
margin of Aston Martin because doing CSR will attract more customers because due to this

general people will think that it is company who does not compromise with ethics. Also this will
give the upper hand to Aston Martin over its other competitors because doing CSR will improve
the brand image of the company.
2. Explanation of Archie Carroll's Pyramid of CSR
The Carroll's Pyramid of CSR is a framework which was given by Archie Carroll which
help in determining the reasons why organisations must meet their corporate social
responsibilities. With the implementation of CSR, companies can fulfil their social responsibility
so that they can work towards increasing the welfare of society and take ethical actions so that
their performance can improve along with building high brand image in market. With the
effective implementation of this framework by Aston Martin the company can perform its
liabilities towards the society in an efficient manner along with increasing its profits
(Khajeheian, Friedrichsen and Mödinger, 2018). The key features of this model are that this
model is built on the foundation of profit which means that increasing the profits of company is
the primary objective of this model. Also this framework ensures that companies comply with
laws and regulations of the country which can help in making their actions legal along with
ethical so that better responsibility towards society can be performed. Following are the four
responsibilities which are displayed on the pyramid: Economic: It is the responsibility of a business to be profitable over a long-run which can
help them in using their profits for the benefits of society and can also help them in
surviving over a long period of time. Legal: It is the responsibility of business to follow laws, rules and regulations related
with businesses in a country which can help them in functioning legally along with
improving their decisions made in reference to business. Various laws related to
employment, competition, health & safety etc. needs to be followed so that the companies
can work legally in country and also improve their productivity. Ethical: It is the responsibility of business to act morally and ethically by taking actions
which can help in enhancing the interests of all the stakeholders so that businesses can
exist ethically in the market and achieve their goals. It also help them in taking ethical
decisions so that maximum good can be promoted among all the stakeholders (Kokodey,
Gnezdova and Lomachenko, 2018).

 Philanthropic: It is related with the responsibility of business to give some part of their
profits in the form of charity or donations to the society which can help in enhancing their
liability towards the society. Also it is important that businesses help in improving the
quality of life of people in society and use the resources in maximising the good of
people.
The Archie Carroll's Pyramid of CSR can thus be used by Aston Martin Lagonda which
can help the company in increasing its social responsibility and in increasing its profits along
with improving its brand image in market. This framework needs to be effectively implemented
by Aston Martin by following all the laws and regulations of country in which it operates, taking
decisions which can help in increasing the benefits of all its stakeholders, increasing its
charitable approaches and increasing innovation in company so that sales of company can
increase. All these factors can help in increasing the profits of Aston Martin so that it can exist
sustainably in market (Li, Zhan and Lukszo, 2016).
Conclusion
By this research it can be concluded that efficient usage of innovation and technology to
a business organisation impacts the growth of a company in a positive manner and the same
applies to Aston Martin. By using the various new technologies the Aston Martin can ensure the
growth of its business. In the research with the help of the practical instances it has seen that by
usage of these technologies the sales and growth of the company has been increased. It was also
seen by doing this study that by implementing the strong corporate governance and ensuring the
Corporate Social Responsibility, helped in the enhancing brand image in the eyes of the
customers which eventually helped in the business growth of Aston Martin.

References
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Khajeheian, D., Friedrichsen, M. and Mödinger, W., 2018. An introduction to competitiveness
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