The concept of cultural universals, the basic needs shared by people around the world, is a critical concept in assessing the impact of culture on decisions about the international marketing of goods and services. In most cases, international marketers have little need to understand all the ways in which their culture differs from the culture of the countries in which they wish to market their products. A basic outline of cultural differences can be created through analysis of a culture's primary message system. The primary message system model of Edward Hall can assist the marketer in avoiding self-reference criteria in analyzing the culture's characteristic behaviors and attitudes, and can provide a perspective from which to view another culture's complexities. International marketing managers must select a critical message system and study how it intersects with others if they are to ascertain the impact of culture on the use of, or demand for, goods and services. Adoption of the primary message system can be accomplished either through: (1) observation, during which the observer becomes a real member of the society; or (2) fieldwork, which requires less investment of time and other resources. These forms of information gathering can be assisted by analysis of the culture's terminal values or objectives and the values that guide achievement of those objectives. (MSE)