Globalization and global business

How critical is culture in our understanding of globalization and its impact on global business?  Do you feel that marketing research professionals truly understand the full nature of culture and its importance for our studies and projects?  How about within a particular market?  How critical is culture in the US 

market, which is constructed of many multicultural segments, but where the concept of culture is not fully recognized in the research process?  What would you do to elevate culture to a level where it is taken more seriously within our marketing discipline?