Required information

[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		$	31,400			$	35,250		$	37,800
Accounts receivable, net			87,000				63,500			50,000
Merchandise inventory			111,500				81,400			53,000
Prepaid expenses			10,900				9,300			4,100
Plant assets, net			282,000				255,500			230,000
Total assets		$	522,800			$	444,950		$	374,900
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	128,800			$	72,750		$	51,000
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			95,500				99,750			81,400
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			136,000				109,950			80,000
Total liabilities and equity		$	522,800			$	444,950		$	374,900

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					$	630,000
Cost of goods sold	$	433,650					$	390,600
Other operating expenses		235,200						144,900
Interest expense		11,300						12,600
Income tax expense		9,550						8,925
Total costs and expenses					689,700						557,025
Net income				$	45,300					$	72,975
Earnings per share				$	2.79					$	4.49

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?