1. Introduction
1.1 Organization and product
Aston Martin goes back to the year 1913 where leadership is not considered as an inheritance but a continuous challenge of which flexible thinking in production is pre-requisite. The company was incorporated by the passion started by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford which raced the exquisite cars.

It is the ‘harmony of apparent contradictions’ that makes Aston Martin so unique. The concept assures exclusive luxury and comfort combined with racing performance - a truly outstanding experience. Aston Martin transformed from a small-scale manufacturer of sport cars to one of the world’s best known luxury brands of which consists of a niche market.

It has currently expanded into the mobile market by creating a mobile phone that is transparent. It consists of transparent glass that has full touchscreen compatibility and implements a SIM card slot, a chipset and a battery, further it also connect to the car and its display, with the latter showing a map of local venues and friends from the Vodacom SA network. The camera in your car can snap a photo by using hologram technology and post it on Facebook letting everyone know you own an Aston Martin

1.2 History
A rich and prestigious heritage defines Aston Martin as something truly unique within automotive history.
Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin as 'Bamford & Martin Ltd', the company developed into an iconic brand portraying luxury and elegance.

The year 1914 saw the birth of the name ‘Aston Martin’, within a year the first Aston Martin had been built and registered with the name and by 1920 the business had relocated to Kensington.
In 1922 Aston Martin was part of the French grand prix, which saw Aston Martin take its first historic steps in overseas competition with two cars completing the race.

Financial problems weighed down the company over the next decade with the business forced to close in 1925, it was then rescued by a group of investors in 1926, forming 'Aston Martin Motors LTD'.

The business was soon restructured, with a competitive range of sports cars and an increasing reputation for engineering and design. This progress lead to the first entry of an Aston Martin in the Le Mans 24-hr race in 1928
Road car production numbers continued to increase throughout the 1930s with 140 cars being built in 1937, the highest pre-war figure.

1939 saw the production of the Aston Martin Atom, an Avant-Garde prototype developed using an early form of space-frame chassis and independent suspension - a further development of Aston Martin's engineering excellence
In 1947 the DB2 model entered production in the same year, quickly followed by 2nd & 3rd in class success at Le Mans in 1951.

Production was moved to Newport Pagnell in 1954 and the site became the home to the DB2/4, a car launched the year before. 1956, 1957 and 1958 saw further milestones for the company with the dbr1 race cars, DB MK III and the DB4 all being introduced.

1. Strategic plan and focus
2.1. Mission statement
The mission statement of Aston Martin describes their dedication to producing cars that are both creative and that benefit from mechanical discipline
2.2. Goals and objectives
The founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford had the goals of building the highest standards of having an exhilarating drive and ownership
Aston Martin strives for continuous improvement in environmental performance and the elimination of pollution at source in line with the business objectives and planning consent.
The objectives and commitments to the environment and the community are to:
• Surpass the conditions for both current and future environmental legislation and regulation.
• Set, monitor and attain all objectives and targets to ensure that we maintain strict control over the environmental aspects of all our products, processes and facilities.
• Commitment to an ongoing reduction in energy consumption and reduction in factory emissions.
• Minimise the impact of Aston Martin activities, products and services on the environment through waste reduction, along with increases in reuse and recycling.
• Operate and maintain an environmental system in line with ISO 14001 :2004
2.3. Core competencies/ competitive advantage
A core competency is a concept in management theory with a specific factor that a business sees as being central to the way it, or its employees, works. It fulfills three key criteria:
1. It is not easy for competitors to imitate.
2. It can be re-used widely for many products and markets.
3. It must contribute to the end consumer's experienced benefits.
Management need to develop several competencies that enable them to be performed effectively, managerial competencies are a set of knowledge, skills, behaviours, and attitudes that a person needs to be effective in a wide range of managerial jobs and various types of organizations.

Regarding figure 1.1 there are 5 core competencies namely:
• Channel management
• New product
• Customer acquisition retention
• Brand, advertising and communication
• Strategic market assessment entry

Situational analysis
SWOT Analysis