Q: Is there an updated version of the Windows Management Framework (WMF) that's part of Windows Server 2012 R2 that can be used for previous versions of Windows?
A: At time of writing, a beta of Windows Management Framework 4.0 was available for Windows 7 SP1, Windows 2008 R2 SP1, and Windows Server 2012. It is not available for Windows 8, as the guidance is to instead install the Windows 8.1 update, which includes the WMF 4 functionality. Major updates are Windows PowerShell 4.0 (including new Integrated Scripting Environment, Desired State Configuration, Web Services), and the WinRM and WMI updates.
At time of writing, WMF 4.0 should not be installed on application servers that aren't compatible with WMF 4.0. These are outlined at this MSDN blog.
The download is available from the Microsoft download site.