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[The following information applies to the questions displayed below.] Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	31,200			$	36,250		$	37,600
Accounts receivable, net			87,400				63,000			49,000
Merchandise inventory			111,000				82,800			52,500
Prepaid expenses			10,200				9,300			5,100
Plant assets, net			277,000				249,000			232,000
Total assets		$	516,800			$	440,350		$	376,200
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	128,800			$	73,000		$	50,800
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			95,500				98,750			82,000
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			130,000				106,100			80,900
Total liabilities and equity		$	516,800			$	440,350		$	376,200

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	735,000					$	600,000
Cost of goods sold	$	433,650					$	390,000
Other operating expenses		227,850						144,000
Interest expense		11,600						13,200
Income tax expense		9,400						8,850
Total costs and expenses					682,500						556,050
Net income				$	52,500					$	43,950
Earnings per share				$	3.23					$	2.70

For both the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, compute the following ratios:

(3-a) Return on total assets. (3-b) Based on return on total assets, did Simon's operating efficiency improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?