I've experienced a lot of what you're talking about. There are usually three circumstances that seem to be the cause:

1. An audit report that says management is out of touch. Mgt gets upset and has a knee jerk reaction. The best way to handle this is to approach mgt, state that you are more than willing to meet the requirements. Then explain the additional burden, cite your track record and ask if there are other ways to meet their needs without the additional burden.

2. Someone wants to make an impression (usually a new guy). Best way to handle this - floor him with paper and then make sure that it has been read. We had a manager who on his first day stated he wanted daily status reports. We complied. Then in every meeting we cited information contained in the reports. Pretty soon he changed it to weekly and then simply started working with us and we documented what needed to be documented.

3. Management feels there is something going on that needs to be addressed. This usually occurs when there is a fear that someone will be offended. Of the three, it's the worst. It means there is a problem that you weren't aware of and folks aren't comfortable in approaching you (or someone in your unit).

Easiest way to determine which it is: talk to your management. Go in with a "is there a problem?" attitude. Don't go in angry or upset. If you're in situation 1, you'll simply tick them off more. If it's 3, you've proved the point. If it's 2, your boss now feels that you don't respect his authority.

The one other thing about this - it won't be the same 3 months from now.

Good luck!!