Notes Payable, Long-Term Debt and Long-Term Lease Obligations Outstanding (Parenthetical) (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended						3 Months Ended							3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2012		May 02, 2012	Aug. 31, 2011		Aug. 31, 2012 Variable Interest Entity	Mar. 19, 2012 Amended and Restated Credit Facility	Aug. 31, 2012 Amended and Restated Credit Facility	Mar. 19, 2012 Minimum Amended and Restated Credit Facility	May 02, 2012 Maximum	Mar. 19, 2012 Maximum Amended and Restated Credit Facility	Aug. 31, 2009 7.750% Senior Notes Due 2016	Aug. 31, 2012 7.750% Senior Notes Due 2016		Aug. 31, 2011 7.750% Senior Notes Due 2016		Feb. 28, 2011 7.750% Senior Notes Due 2016	May 31, 2008 8.250% Senior Notes Due 2018	Feb. 29, 2008 8.250% Senior Notes Due 2018	Aug. 31, 2007 8.250% Senior Notes Due 2018	Aug. 31, 2012 8.250% Senior Notes Due 2018		Aug. 31, 2011 8.250% Senior Notes Due 2018		Nov. 30, 2010 5.625% Senior Notes Due 2020	Aug. 31, 2012 5.625% Senior Notes Due 2020		Aug. 31, 2011 5.625% Senior Notes Due 2020		Aug. 31, 2012 4.700% Senior Notes due 2022		Aug. 31, 2012 Foreign subsidiaries credit facilities Minimum	Aug. 31, 2012 Foreign subsidiaries credit facilities Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior Notes, stated interest rate												7.75%	7.75%	[1]	7.75%	[1]	7.75%	8.25%	8.25%	8.25%	8.25%	[2]	8.25%	[2]	5.625%	5.625%	[3]	5.625%	[3]	4.70%	[4]
Senior Notes, maturity year													2016	[1]	2016	[1]					2018	[2]	2018	[2]		2020	[3]	2020	[3]	2022	[4]
Senior Notes, face amount												$ 312,000,000	$ 312,000,000					$ 150,000,000	$ 250,000,000		$ 400,000,000				$ 400,000,000	$ 400,000,000				$ 500,000,000
Debt instrument, maturity date							Mar. 19, 2017					Jul. 15, 2016						Mar. 15, 2018	Mar. 15, 2018	Mar. 15, 2018					Dec. 15, 2020					Sep. 15, 2022
Senior Notes, percent of face value												96.10%						97.50%	99.965%											99.992%
Net proceeds in issuance of notes												300,000,000						148,500,000	245,700,000						400,000,000					500,000,000
Interest rate for foreign subsidiaries credit facilities																																2.10%	12.40%
Line of credit revolving facility initiation amount							1,300,000,000
Revolving credit facility potential increase							1,600,000,000
Line of credit facility interest rate above one month LIBOR rate							1.00%
Line of credit facility interest rate above federal funds rate							0.50%
Line of credit facility interest rate above Eurocurrency rate									1.175%		1.85%
Percentage added to base rate									0.175%		0.85%
Line of credit facility amount borrowed and repaid during period	8,300,000,000							1,600,000,000
VIE credit capacity			60,000,000
Lease agreement period										5 years
Total assets	7,803,141,000			7,057,940,000		55,100,000
Notes receivable						53,600,000
Total liabilities	5,695,806,000			5,174,117,000		54,800,000
Debt obligation utilized	56,036,000	[5]		2,062,000	[5]	54,700,000
Short term loan	$ 1,200,000

[1] During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009, the Company issued $312.0 million of seven-year, publicly-registered 7.750% notes (the "7.750% Senior Notes") at 96.1% of par, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $300.0 million. The 7.750% Senior Notes mature on July 15, 2016 and pay interest semiannually on January 15 and July 15. The 7.750% Senior Notes are the Company's senior unsecured obligations and rank equally with all other existing and future senior unsecured debt obligations. The Company is subject to covenants such as limitations on its and/or its subsidiaries' ability to: consolidate or merge with, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of the Company's assets to, another person; create certain liens; enter into sale and leaseback transactions; create, incur, issue, assume or guarantee funded debt (which only applies to the Company's "restricted subsidiaries"); and guarantee any of the Company's indebtedness (which only applies to the Company's subsidiaries). The Company is also subject to a covenant requiring its repurchase of the 7.750% Senior Notes upon a "change of control repurchase event."

[2] During the second and third quarters of fiscal year 2008, the Company issued $250.0 million and $150.0 million, respectively, of ten-year, unregistered 8.250% notes at 99.965% of par and 97.5% of par, respectively, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $245.7 million and $148.5 million, respectively. On July 18, 2008, the Company completed an exchange whereby all of the outstanding unregistered 8.250% Notes were exchanged for registered 8.250% Notes (collectively the "8.250% Senior Notes") that are substantially identical to the unregistered notes except that the 8.250% Senior Notes are registered under the Securities Act and do not have any transfer restrictions, registration rights or rights to additional special interest. The 8.250% Senior Notes mature on March 15, 2018 and pay interest semiannually on March 15 and September 15. The interest rate payable on the 8.250% Senior Notes is subject to adjustment from time to time if the credit ratings assigned to the 8.250% Senior Notes increase or decrease, as provided in the 8.250% Senior Notes. The 8.250% Senior Notes are the Company's senior unsecured obligations and rank equally with all other existing and future senior unsecured debt obligations. The Company is subject to covenants such as limitations on its and/or its subsidiaries' ability to: consolidate or merge with, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of the Company's assets to, another person; create certain liens; enter into sale and leaseback transactions; create, incur, issue, assume or guarantee any funded debt (which only applies to the Company's "restricted subsidiaries"); and guarantee any of the Company's indebtedness (which only applies to the Company's subsidiaries). The Company is also subject to a covenant requiring its repurchase of the 8.250% Senior Notes upon a "change of control repurchase event."

[3] During the first quarter of fiscal year 2011, the Company issued $400.0 million of ten-year publicly registered 5.625% notes (the "5.625% Senior Notes") at par. The net proceeds from the offering of $400.0 million were used to fully repay the term portion of the credit facility dated as of July 19, 2007 (the "Old Credit Facility") and partially repay amounts outstanding under the Company's foreign asset-backed securitization program. The 5.625% Senior Notes mature on December 15, 2020 and pay interest semiannually on June 15 and December 15 of each year, beginning on June 15, 2011. The 5.625% Senior Notes are the Company's senior unsecured obligations and rank equally with all other existing and future senior unsecured debt obligations. The Company is subject to covenants such as limitations on its and/or its subsidiaries' ability to: consolidate or merge with, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of the Company's assets to, another person; create certain liens; enter into sale and leaseback transactions; create, incur, issue, assume or guarantee any funded debt (which only applies to the Company's "restricted subsidiaries"); and guarantee any of the Company's indebtedness (which only applies to the Company's subsidiaries). The Company is also subject to a covenant requiring its repurchase of the 5.625% Senior Notes upon a "change of control repurchase event."

[4] During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012, the Company issued $500.0 million of ten-year publicly registered 4.700% notes (the "4.700% Senior Notes") at 99.992% of par. The net proceeds from the offering of $500.0 million were used to repay outstanding borrowings under the revolving amended and restated senior unsecured five-year revolving credit facility entered into on March 19, 2012 ("the Amended and Restated Credit Facility") and for general corporate purposes. The 4.700% Senior Notes mature on September 15, 2022 and pay interest semiannually on March 15 and September 15 of each year, beginning on March 15, 2013. The 4.700% Senior Notes are the Company's senior unsecured obligations and rank equally with all other existing and future senior unsecured debt obligations. The Company is subject to covenants such as limitations on its and/or its subsidiaries' ability to: consolidate or merge with, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of the Company's assets to, another person; create certain liens; enter into sale and leaseback transactions; create, incur, issue, assume or guarantee any funded debt (which only applies to the Company's "restricted subsidiaries"); and guarantee any of the Company's indebtedness (which only applies to the Company's subsidiaries). The Company is also subject to a covenant requiring its repurchase of the 4.700% Senior Notes upon a "change of control repurchase event."

[5] On May 2, 2012, the Company entered into a master lease agreement with a variable interest entity (the "VIE") whereby it sells to and subsequently leases back from the VIE up to $60.0 million in certain machinery and equipment for a period of up to five years. In connection with this transaction, the Company holds a variable interest in the VIE, which was designed to hold debt obligations payable to third-party creditors. The proceeds from such debt obligations are utilized to finance the purchase of the machinery and equipment that is then leased by the Company. The Company is the primary beneficiary of the VIE as it has both the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that could potentially be significant to the VIE. Therefore, the Company consolidates the financial statements of the VIE and eliminates all intercompany transactions. At August 31, 2012, the VIE had approximately $55.1 million of total assets, of which approximately $53.6 million was comprised of a note receivable due from the Company, and approximately $54.8 million of total liabilities, of which approximately $54.7 million were debt obligations to the third-party creditors (as the VIE has utilized approximately $54.7 million of the $60.0 million debt obligation capacity). The third-party creditors have recourse to the Company's general credit only in the event that the Company defaults on its obligations under the terms of the master lease agreement. In addition, the assets held by the VIE can be used only to settle the obligations of the VIE.