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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		$	24,803			$	28,992		$	29,898
Accounts receivable, net			89,800				62,500			50,600
Merchandise inventory			110,500				84,000			59,000
Prepaid expenses			7,987				7,610			3,322
Plant assets, net			187,294				179,298			159,180
Total assets		$	420,384			$	362,400		$	302,000
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	104,676			$	61,246		$	39,864
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			79,032				83,352			66,742
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			74,176				55,302			32,894
Total liabilities and equity		$	420,384			$	362,400		$	302,000

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow. Assume that all sales are on credit:

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	546,499					$	431,256
Cost of goods sold	$	333,364					$	280,316
Other operating expenses		169,415						109,108
Interest expense		9,290						9,919
Income tax expense		7,104						6,469
Total costs and expenses					519,173						405,812
Net income				$	27,326					$	25,444
Earnings per share				$	1.68					$	1.57

(3-a) Compute inventory turnover. (3-b) For each ratio, determine if it improved or worsened in the current year.