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		$	32,000			$	36,250		$	38,000
Accounts receivable, net			87,000				63,500			49,500
Merchandise inventory			111,500				83,000			53,500
Prepaid expenses			10,550				9,300			4,600
Plant assets, net			280,000				249,000			234,000
Total assets		$	521,050			$	441,050		$	379,600
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	128,000			$	74,750		$	51,400
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			96,500				101,750			82,000
Common stock, $10 par value			162,000				162,000			162,000
Retained earnings			134,550				102,550			84,200
Total liabilities and equity		$	521,050			$	441,050		$	379,600

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

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	765,000					$	550,000
Cost of goods sold	$	466,650					$	352,000
Other operating expenses		237,150						126,500
Interest expense		12,400						13,400
Income tax expense		9,600						8,875
Total costs and expenses					725,800						500,775
Net income				$	39,200					$	49,225
Earnings per share				$	2.42					$	3.04

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?