Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Year	1 Year Ago	2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash	$ 30,800	$ 35,500	$ 37,000
Accounts receivable, net	88,500	61,000	50,500
Merchandise inventory	110,500	80,200	52,500
Prepaid expenses	10,900	9,350	5,200
Plant assets, net	280,000	251,500	233,000
Total assets	$ 520,700	$ 437,550	$ 378,200
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 128,400	$ 72,750	$ 50,000
Long-term notes payable	95,000	101,750	80,200
Common stock, $10 par value	161,000	161,000	161,000
Retained earnings	136,300	102,050	87,000
Total liabilities and equity	$ 520,700	$ 437,550	$ 378,200

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

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 765,000		$ 600,000
Cost of goods sold	$ 459,000		$ 372,000
Other operating expenses	237,150		144,000
Interest expense	12,100		13,200
Income tax expense	9,600		8,650
Total costs and expenses		717,850		537,850
Net income		$ 47,150		$ 62,150
Earnings per share		$ 2.93		$ 3.86

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

(3-a) Compute return on total assets for the current year and one year ago. (3-b) Based on return on total assets, did Simon's operating efficiency improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?