Notes Payable And Long-Term Debt (Narrative) (Details)	12 Months Ended								3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2011 USD ($)		Aug. 31, 2010 USD ($)		Aug. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 EUR (€)	Aug. 31, 2007 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 Maximum [Member]	Feb. 28, 2011 Maximum [Member] Amended And Restated Credit Facility [Member]	Aug. 31, 2011 Minimum [Member]	Feb. 28, 2011 Minimum [Member] Amended And Restated Credit Facility [Member]	Nov. 30, 2010 5.625% Senior Notes Due In 2020 [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 5.625% Senior Notes Due In 2020 [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2009 7.750% Senior Notes Due 2016 [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 7.750% Senior Notes Due 2016 [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2011 7.750% Senior Notes Due 2016 [Member]	May 31, 2008 8.250% Senior Notes Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 29, 2008 8.250% Senior Notes Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 8.250% Senior Notes Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2007 8.250% Senior Notes Due 2018 [Member]	Aug. 31, 2011 Amended And Restated Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2011 Amended And Restated Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 Amended And Restated Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)
Senior Notes												$ 400,000,000		$ 312,000,000			$ 150,000,000	$ 250,000,000
Stated interest rate												5.625%		7.75%		7.75%	8.25%	8.25%		8.25%
Estimated fair value of senior notes													388,000,000		347,100,000				453,000,000
Senior notes, percent of face value														96.10%			97.50%	99.965%
Net proceeds in issuance of notes												400,000,000		300,000,000			148,500,000	245,700,000
Interest expense recognized under foreign and non-foreign asset backed securitization program	900,000		2,100,000		3,900,000
Rate of interest									1.50%		0.40%
Line of credit facility interest rate above Eurocurrency rate									2.50%		1.40%
Line of credit facility interest rate above federal funds rate																						0.50%
Line of credit facility interest rate above one month LIBOR rate																						1.0
Line of credit facility amount borrowed and repaid during period																					1,700,000,000		6,700,000,000
Line of credit revolving facility initiation amount																						1,000,000,000
Revolving credit facility potential increase																						1,300,000,000
Term portion of revolving credit facility							400,000,000
Short term loan						2,100,000
Expiry date												Dec. 15, 2020		Jul. 15, 2016			Mar. 15, 2018	Mar. 15, 2018	Mar. 15, 2018
Debt outstanding under foreign securitization program		[1]	$ 71,436,000	[1]
Interest rate for credit facility								3.60%		2.30%

[1] In the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, the Company amended the foreign asset-backed securitization program. Prior to execution of the amendment, the Company recognized interest expense of approximately $0.9 million during fiscal year 2011 associated with the secured borrowings. As a result of the amendment, the accounts receivable transferred under this program qualify for sale treatment and as such are no longer accounted for as secured borrowing. The program was accounted for as a secured borrowing in fiscal year 2010. At August 31, 2010, the Company had $71.4 million of debt outstanding under the program. In addition, the Company incurred interest expense of $2.1 million and $3.9 million recorded within the Consolidated Statements of Operations during fiscal years 2010 and 2009, respectively.