@jpinnock From reading your comments over a lot of different strips, I'd say your value and worth as a human is virtually nil, along with any respect you mistakenly believe you deserve. You sound way too much like a dictator to me. I would gladly have walked out on any job I may have had with somebody like you as a boss - and made certain to send you my regards later on.
I would not have allowed Dilbert to get away with this - I would repeatedly ask the question and persist until I got an answer, then I would make absolutely sure that he knew that this behavior will not be tolerated. I have disciplined subordinates like this before and always got the respect I deserved.