i feel it is not a question of ethics but rather seeing your company policies or ur boss attittude..
when i went for my reco, i told my boss frankly my aspirations and told him that i will give him sufficient time if i plan to leave..
i had worked with him on lot of assignment and i felt that he would not block my growth..rather he told me abt my ex colleagues for whom he have earlier given recos
probably i was lucky

I think this is a pretty common issue, given that most schools specifically address the issue of not using your current boss as a recommender because you're not telling him/her that you're applying. I spoke to a trusted friend who is a manager (not at my company) last night about this very issue, and she said that there's not much your manager can do with that information nearly a year month in advance if you don't even know if you'll be leaving the company or not. And you just run the risk that you could miss out on opportunities if you're viewed as a "short-timer". You should know at least a couple months in advance whether you've been accepted or not, so you will still have more than enough time to give notice - far more than if you were changing jobs.

As long as you haven't made any explicit promises to your boss that you are going to continue working at the company during your MBA program, he should be understanding that you want to give yourself the best possible chance of being admitted to a top program. You could approach the subject honestly and openly by saying something like: "I have really enjoyed my time here at the company. I've learned a lot and feel like I've been able to contribute a lot as well. I wanted to let you know that in addition to schools here in NYC, I am also really excited about applying to schools in the Los Angeles area. Since the NYC programs would potentially allow me to stay on part-time, I know that this may be an expectation. However, I'm also applying to schools where I would be a full-time student. I would really appreciate it if you could write me recommendations for those programs as well."

Then be sure to put together a killer recommendation packet (https://www.beatthegmat.com/letter-of-re ... 62013.html) and you're on your way!

You're going to LOVE Los Angeles!

Kaneisha