I have a boss who is short tempered, narrow minded, ostracized by various other departments and tries to crush peoples' sentiments.

I dealt with such a boss in a very simple way by giving him back such hard language that for a few days he found it difficult to talk to me. I guess i have given it back to him at least 4 times. I am very professional in my work and thorough.

Because of my work, even the directors of the organization, directly call me to handle the tasks. This puts pressure on my boss to better behave with me. Now what happens is that whatever I do, he simply endorses it. No questioning. If he questions irrationally or whimsically, he is assured that he gets it back.

The only principle I recommend is that you do excellent work, have good contact with your boss's boss and speak out to his or her face. I have tried it in two different organizations with two different bosses. In both, I have succeeded. When your boss knows that you won't tolerate nonsense, he would be ten times more careful.