First point I would like to make is that if they had UI standards in place, then this guy wouldn't have had to waste so much time getting it to look right.

My manager does this all the time. He gives me very incomplete specs, if any at all, and always has a bunch of things he wants changed on the first draft. I usually feel that his changes ruin some of the aesthetics I was going for, adds in more complexity, and runs slower. I'm a minimalist, and lets just say he loves buttons everywhere ala Photoshop style.

I barely fight for my designs anymore because this collaboration style gives him more power and because he will get most of the blame if it fails.