I honestly don't think our own personal work experiences have any bearing on Bard's situation. There are countless examples of work environments where employees' input is encouraged and countless more where it isn't. There are different schools of thought on which is more effective...etc. etc.
The question that hasn't been answered is, why would they let Bard have this kind of input when they haven't done it with any other pitchers? The only logical answer is that they thought it was the best way to handle this particular player.